


A Citrus Campaign Volume 1

by PuddingEarl



Category: citrus - サブロウタ | citrus - Saburouta
Genre: Canon Compliant, Characters play D&D, F/F, Roleplay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-04-26 03:55:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 64,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14393757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PuddingEarl/pseuds/PuddingEarl
Summary: With summer break just started, but summer school not starting for a week, Matsuri suggests Yuzu gets her friends together for a week long game of D&D. Seeing a chance to spend some time with her friends, and possibly bond a little more with Mei, Yuzu invites Harumin, Nene, and Himeko to join them on their quest to save a small village on a tropical island.Set in the middle of Chapter 25, this is meant to be a light, cheerful little story, since Saburouta insists on stomping on my heart over and over again.





	1. Love Escape

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> Just a few quick preambles that I figure are important enough to go at the very beginning. First off, I have an actual schedule for my planned releases with this fic, which I figured I should lay out here for you all. There'll be two updates each month, one on the 1st, and one on the 15th of each month. This was going to go up on the 15th. I had it all ready to go. And then I discovered there was a waiting period on account creation, so that got a bit messed up. Great news for anyone reading this however, since it means you have less of a wait for more!
> 
> Obviously with 2 updates a month and 24 chapters, that means I'm planning for this to take a year. I might speed up a bit somewhere down the line, but I wanted to give myself lots of wiggle room, as I would like to do a Volume 2 when this is done, but first I need the manga to reach a point where I can comfortably slot in what I want to do. The 24 chapters are going to be split semi-evenly over 5 days, so 4 chapters per day of play, with three chapters devoted to between game moments. The last chapter is going to be the character creation chapter, which will be coming out next.
> 
> And a final note. The game they're playing is an actual game. To anyone who's played D&D, you'll probably recognize they're using mana, and referencing classes that aren't in D&D despite the tags saying it is D&D. It is D&D-based, however it's a heavily homebrewed version I've been cooking up for a while. Some rules have changed since I wrote this first chapter, but to update to include them would mean a total re-write. So instead I'm going to be updating them as of Day 2 of play. If people are interested, I'll start posting character sheets in the notes at the end of each chapter, so you can see what everyone is capable of, and how they're growing and changing.
> 
> And finally, an apology to any Nene fans who think I'm doing her a dis-service. I'm trying to keep everyone's actions and speech as close to canon as possible, however I have the least experience with Nene. I've been re-reading the manga to get a grip on everyone again, but I haven't gotten to her yet. So I apologize.
> 
> Anyway, with all that said, I hope you enjoy, and I'd love to hear feedback!

The sun was getting low as the group crested the final hill and looked down on the village. Yuzu paused, placing her hands on her hips and taking in the sight. It was a small village, with an abnormally large dock. The dock had three large ships sitting at it. One of them was intended for them. Harumin was the one who had suggested this job. They'd been several towns over when she'd come prancing in and slammed down a large sheet of paper.

“It's easy. We sail out to the island, kill the monsters, steal the loot, and come home next year.” Harumin had explained.

“And how are we getting to this island?” Himeko had demanded.

“The paper says there's a boat waiting for us.” Nene answered, holding the paper in front of her.

“Well, I think it's stupid.” Himeko argued.

“It sounds exciting!” Yuzu declared. “What do you think Mei?”

“It sounds risky. But I see no reason we can't at least go and see.” She said simply.

They'd set out the next morning. It took them a few days to arrive at the village. The roads were busy, mostly with traffic flowing the opposite direction. There were rumors of an Orc raid brewing, and most travelers were looking to get out of it's way. Yuzu wasn't concerned about the Orcs. They'd only be spending one night in the village and heading out soon after they arrived.

They made their way down the hill, and into the village. It was a sleepy village, with three main streets running down it's length, each leading to a dock. The streets were connected alongside the docks, and by lots of narrow side-streets. They checked in with the boat, and discovered that they'd be ready to leave in a few hours. With that done, they returned to the tavern, and settled in to rest for the night. The sun went down, and for a while they relaxed around the tavern, drinking and laughing with the residents.

* * *

 

Several hours into their rest however the ground began to rumble. The sound of screams started to fill the air. The door to the tavern burst open, and a woman threw herself inside.

“Orcs!” She screamed. “Orcs are raiding the village!” Yuzu slammed her hands down onto the table and stood up.

“We have to help them.” She declared. Across from her, Mei sighed.

“All right. Let's go.” She said, standing up. One by one Harumin, Himeko and Nene all rose to their feet, and the group headed for the door. Walking outside, they were greeted by the smell of smoke, and the sight of buildings burning.

“How'd they set so many fires so fast?” Harumin asked idly. She was answered by a loud scream, as a group of Orcs came stampeding around the corner of the street, and towards the party! Yuzu drew her axe from her back, and let out a deafening scream. She wasn't going to stand for innocent people being hurt by these creatures. She began to charge towards the Orcs. An arrow flew into one of them, closely followed by a small bolt of fire. Yuzu charged at the weakened Orc, and swung her axe at it. But the Orc was too fast, and it jumped aside, dodging her attack!

* * *

 

“Did you remember your Weapon Focus bonus?” Himeko asked.

“Huh? Oh! No I didn't!” Yuzu replied, starring down at the sheet in front of her. “So...I got a 12, I add 4 from strength, one more from weapon focus...that's a 17. Did I hit?” Matsuri shook her head from behind the GM's screen at the end of the table.

“What about your rage bonus?” Mei asked.

“Oh yeah!” Yuzu said. “That's...19!”

* * *

 

The Orc was good. But Yuzu was better. She twisted her axe slightly as it missed the Orcs head. It lodged itself in the Orc's stomach. The Orc crumpled to the ground. Two more charged at Yuzu, swinging their massive axes at her. One hit her shoulder, while the other connected with her leg, and she cried out in pain.

The pain only lasted a second however, as magic washed through her, healing the damage. The wounds sewed themselves shut, leaving only small cuts where large gashes had been.

“Thanks Mei!” Yuzu called back to her.

“Don't get yourself killed please. I don't have enough mana to heal you forever.” Mei replied.

Harumin ran up alongside Yuzu, she stopped a few steps short of the Orcs, and threw her dagger at one of them. The dagger hit the Orc's leg. Nene fired another arrow, and Himeko cast another spell on the Orc. It seemed quite beat up.

“Why does it go down when Yuzu hits it with us, but not when Harumin hits it?” Himeko huffed.

* * *

 

“Because Yuzu-Chan did 18 damage. It was a good roll.” Matsuri answered.

* * *

 

Yuzu attacked the Orc, and it went down as well. That left them with one final Orc. He swung at Yuzu again, but this time his attack hit her breastplate, and bounced away.

“Yuzu! Duck!” Harumin called from behind her. Yuzu ducked down, and a pair of daggers flew over her head. They embedded themselves into the Orc's eyes, and it screamed in pain.

* * *

 

“Does that actually blind him?” Harumin asked, looking up from one of the 20s sitting in front of her. Matsuri shook her head.

“Nah, it just sounded cool for a critical hit.” She replied. “Anyway, Nene, it's your turn.”

“Oh. I guess I'll shoot the Orc.” Nene said. She grabbed the dice, and rolled, before looking between it and her sheet several times. “18?”

“That's barely a hit.” Matsuri replied. Nene grabbed the next dice and rolled it.

“7.” Nene declared. Matsuri scribbled something behind her screen.

“Eyebrow-Chan.”

“My name is not Eyebrow-Chan.” Himeko protested. “I'll cast another Firebolt.” She said, picking up the dice. “Does a 12 hit him?”

“For you, it does.” Matsuri teased.

“Hey! How come she can hit with just a 12!” Yuzu protested.

“I'm using touch attacks. They ignore armour.” Himeko answered with a hint of smugness. She picked up the damage dice and rolled it.

“14.”

“The Orc crashes to the ground, dead. You can see hundreds more coming down the hill towards the town. What do you do?” Matsuri narrated.

“I'm going to fetch my daggers.” Harumin replied.

“Uh...we can't kill them all, can we?” Yuzu asked.

“You can try.” Matsuri answered with a devilish grin.

“We should see if the boat is ready to cast off.” Himeko suggested.

“That is probably the safest choice.” Mei agreed. Yuzu grimaced.

“But what about all the villagers?” She asked.

“We can stop to save the ones we pass.” Mei conceded after a pause. Yuzu smiled. Mei had that embarrassed look she got from time to time when Yuzu got her way.

“All right! Let's go!” Yuzu declared.

“You start running for the docks. You can see that the boat is ready to go and is just waiting for you. A few other boats are taking on villagers. You're getting close, when a building collapses into the road, blocking your way. You can see a way through a side alley to get to the docks. From the other direction you can hear Orcs shouting, and the sound of villagers in trouble.”

“We're got to save them!” Yuzu said.

“We're saving the ones we pass. We're not passing those ones.” Himeko argued. “They knew the risks living so close to Orcs!”

“I agree with Yuzu.” Harumin said. “Besides, we might find some cool loot.” Nene nodded quickly in agreement.

“Madm President? What should we do?” Himeko asked, looking to Mei. Mei looked at Yuzu for a moment before sighing.

“Yuzu will just run in to help them anyway.” She said simply.

* * *

 

Yuzu charged towards the sound of the Orcs. She wasn't sure if anyone was behind her. She hoped they were coming, but even if they weren't, she had to save the villagers. They were inside a building. Yuzu kicked the door open and barged in! Two Orcs were standing over a woman and child cowering on the floor.

Yuzu charged the closest one, and smacked her axe into it's back. The Orc howled in pain and spun to face her. Unlike the others, this one actually had a shield. He slammed it into Yuzu's chest, and she stumbled backwards. The Orc followed her as she stumbled, occupying the space she'd just vacated.

Harumin burst into the room after her. She looked as if she'd been running for quite a while. The others followed her in, awkwardly piling up near the entrance. The other Orc advanced on them, swinging his axe at Harumin, and landing a hefty blow.

Yuzu struck at the Orc again. This time however he caught her axe on his shield. He slammed it into her again, and she hit the wall. Her head smacked against the wood, and the world around her spun.

Harumin was trying to fight the other Orc, but alone she wasn't doing a very good job of taking it down. Nene and Himeko were both focusing on it as well, while Mei began to pray.

Yuzu tried to muster the effort to strike back, but she couldn't focus long enough to fight back. The Orc slammed his shield into her again, and once more she hit the wall. The spinning only got worse.

* * *

 

“It's not fair she can get stunned over and over like that.” Nene protested.

“Stunlocks are part of the game!” Matsuri replied. “It's not my fault Yuzu charged ahead of the party.”

“That was very stupid of her.” Himeko agreed. Yuzu grinned at them sheepishly.

“Sorry! I just got really caught up in the moment!” She said. Harumin sighed.

“I don't think I can beat this Orc by myself. Could you cut us a break?” She complained to Matsuri.

“Alright, alright!” Matsuri grumbled.

* * *

 

The spinning got significantly worse, as the wall behind Yuzu broke, and she stumbled out into the village. She toppled onto her back, and for a second she was sure she'd be sick.

* * *

 

“Is that better?” Matsuri asked.

“Now she's out of line of sight for my heal.” Mei stated.

* * *

 

The break in the wall caused a chain reaction, and the rest of the wall fell, baring the insides of the house to the world.

* * *

 

Matsuri removed the last toothpick from the battlefield, indicating the wall had collapsed.

“Is THAT better?” She asked.

“Thanks Matsuri!” Yuzu said. “It's great!”

“Haru, let me!” Nene declared. She fired another arrow at the Orc, before running up to it.

“Are you sure?” Harumin asked.

“I can handle it!” Nene said. Harumin nodded, and jumped away, before running towards the Orc that was chasing Yuzu. Himeko continued to pepper the Orc in front of her with firebolts. The Orc paid her no mind, as it attacked, and injured, Nene.

Mei's prayed finally finished, and Nene, Yuzu and Harumin all glowed for a second, as their wounds healed themselves. It wasn't a perfect heal by any means, but it helped.

Yuzu rose to her feet, and swung at the Orc. She landed another hit, and it hesitated slightly. It looked to be getting weak. It didn't bother hitting her with the shield this time. Instead it slashed at her with it's scimitar.

* * *

 

Matsuri sucked in a breath through her teeth.

“That's a critical hit.” She declared.

“What? They can crit?”

“Yeah. So that's...15 damage.” Matsuri remarked.

“That's so much!” Yuzu protested.

“Don't be a baby. It's only 15.”

“That's almost half my HP!”

“That's more than half my HP.” Harumin said.

“Really?” Yuzu asked. She reached over and grabbed Harumin's sheet. Sure enough, she only had 23 HP.

“Oh...I guess it's not so bad.”

* * *

 

Nene continued to face off with her Orc. She fired at it, and missed, while the Orc missed it's own attack. Harumin had almost reached the Orc fighting Yuzu, and so she threw both daggers at it. The Orc screamed in pain.

* * *

 

“How close to dead is that Orc?” Himeko asked.

“Pretty close.” Matsuri replied. Himeko stared at the minis on the table in front of her, thinking for a minute.

“I'm going to cast scorch on it.” She finally declared. She grabbed the dice, and rolled it.

“6 Damage. Is it dead?” Matsuri glanced down at her notes. “Yes! The Orc screams in pain, as his skin burns, and he collapses to the ground dead.” Matsuri declared.

“You don't need to make it so horrific.” Himeko scolded her. “And then I'll cast firebolt on the other one.” She rolled her dice.

“That's a hit.” Matsuri declared.

“I didn't even say what I got!” Himeko complained.

“I can see it from here. You hit without bonuses.” Matsuri explained. Himeko huffed, and grabbed her damage dice.

“9.” Himeko declared the moment the dice stopped.

“Got it. Mei-San, your turn.” Matsuri said. Mei looked at the board.

“Is anyone other than Yuzu hurt?” She asked.

“No.” Matsuri answered.

“I'll hold my turn.” Mei said. Yuzu looked at her in shock.

“Mei! I'm almost at half health!”

“You'll live another round. I can heal you on Himeko's turn if no one else needs it.”

“Okay, Yuzu-Chan, take your turn.”

“Can I charge that other Orc from here?” Yuzu asked.

“You can.”

“I'll do that!” Yuzu declared. She reached over the table and picked up her mini, and moved it next to the Orc. “And then I roll.” She said, picking up her dice and rolling it. “Okay so...my melee is a +5, another +1 from Weapon Focus, and then +2 from charging right?” She looked up at Matsuri for confirmation. Matsuri nodded. “Which makes a 20.”

“That's a hit.” Yuzu grabbed her damage dice and rolled it.

“And...13 damage.”

“The Orc looks like it's about to go down, but it's not there yet! Taniguchi-Senpai!”

“I'll run up to it, and draw more daggers. Then throw another one at it!” Harumin declared.

“Does Nene give me sneak attack?”

“She's in melee, so yes.”

“Alright!” Harumin rolled. “Um...19”

“Hit.” Harumin picked up a pair of dice and rolled them.

“A 2 and a 5.” She declared. “No other bonuses.”

“Why don't you have any other bonuses?” Nene asked.

“Because I only have a 10 in Strength, and I don't have any feats to add Dexterity to damage yet.” Harumin grumbled.

“At least you get an easy way to apply Sneak Attack.” Matsuri offered in consolation.

“Yeah yeah. Does he die?”

“He does!” Matsuri declared. “So that's another fight over!”

“I'd like to cast Heal on Yuzu.” Mei said.

“Thanks Mei!” Yuzu replied, grinning at her. Mei blushed slightly, and looked back down at the dice. “You heal for 12.” She said.

“Okay! That should be enough until the next fight!”

* * *

 

“Are you okay?” Yuzu asked the woman. She nodded.

“Yes...thank you.” She replied. Yuzu grinned.

“No worries! You better start running though...” The woman nodded again, and began shepherding her child out of the room. Yuzu turned back to the group. Harumin had retrieved her daggers, and Nene had finished picking out her arrows.

“Now can we go to the boat?” Himeko asked.

“Yeah! Let's go!” Yuzu declared. The group jogged out of the building, and down the side alley they'd ignored before. It lead them through to a parallel street that headed for the docks. This one was much more quiet, with only the sounds of the fire crackling, and the distant sounds of battle. Corpses littered the street, both human and Orc.

“This is depressing...” Harumin said softly.

“Yeah, what gives?” Yuzu asked.

“We should just be glad we're being left alone.” Mei replied. Yuzu grumbled quietly, but nodded. They reached the end of the street, and walked out into the walkway that ran alongside the dock. Their boat was sitting in one of the docks, ready to go. A large man with huge, feathered wings waved to them.

* * *

 

“What? Why does he have wings?” Himeko asked.

“He's a Galeborn.” Matsuri replied.

“What is that?” Himeko demanded.

“It's another race. Like a human with wings. You could've played one if you wanted.” Matsuri explained.

“Oh...” Himeko said softly. “No thank you.”

* * *

 

They didn't make it to the dock. Halfway there, a wall of a burning building ahead of them was smashed down, and a large Orc with two giant axes in hand walked out.

“Ey! Where you think yous going?” The Orc demanded.

* * *

 

Yuzu couldn't stop laughing. Matsuri stared at her.

“It's not that funny.” She insisted. Yuzu nodded.

“It is!” She said. Harumin was laughing beside her.

“What even is that accent?” She managed to choke out between laughs. Matsuri folded her arms.

“It's how they're supposed to sound!” She protested. Her protests fell on deaf ears, as the two girls laughed. After a few minutes they managed to catch their breath.

“Okay! Okay. I'm done...sorry.” Yuzu said. She glanced over at Mei. Mei was staring at her with a small smile on her face. As Yuzu looked, Mei glanced away.

“Good. Can we continue now?” Matsuri asked. Yuzu and Harumin nodded.

* * *

 

A second, smaller Orc stepped out. He was wielding a pair of small daggers. A tiny troll woman followed him out.

“Nowhere but the graveyard I reckon.” The second Orc replied.

* * *

 

Yuzu and Harumin spent another half a minute laughing.

* * *

 

“You know some big words for an Orc.” Harumin shouted back. The Orcs fell silent.

“I think shes insulting us.” The first Orc declared.

“Yeah...I think she is. Better teach her a lesson eh?” With a loud scream, the two Orcs charged forward. The one with the axes swung at Yuzu, and landed a solid blow on her. She screamed in pain, and stumbled half a step back. Before she had a chance to react Harumin had thrown two daggers at him. The Orc screamed in pain for a second, but the troll behind him cast a spell, and the wounds healed themselves, pushing the daggers out.

“Get the troll!” Himeko declared.

“Okay!” Nene said. She fired an arrow at the troll. It hit, and the troll stumbled back slightly. Yuzu screamed in anger at the Orc.

* * *

 

“You've already raged today.” Matsuri said. “You can't rage again.”

“What?” Yuzu asked. She looked down at her sheet. Nothing like that was written on it. Matsuri handed her a paper from the stacks behind her screen. Yuzu took it and glanced over it. It was a page from the feats list. Sure enough, Berserker clearly stated she could only rage once per day.

“Oh...I guess I'll just hit him then.” Yuzu declared, defeated.

* * *

 

Yuzu's axe slammed into the Orc, and he screamed in pain once more. Himeko fired off a firebolt at the troll. Then the second Orc came running up. He ran past Yuzu, and she swung her axe at him. Incredibly, he managed to flip over her axe, landing behind her. He twisted, and stabbed at her back. The dagger slipped through her defences, in the small gap between the bottom of her breastplate, and the top of the furs she kept wrapped around her waist. The Orc in front of her swung both of his axes, hitting her twice over.

* * *

 

“What?” Yuzu stared at her HP. “I'm almost dead!”

“Don't worry, I'll heal you.” Mei said softly.

“Well, it's your turn Mei-San.” Matsuri declared. Mei picked up her dice and rolled.

“14.” She said. “And then I'll cast plea, to heal Yuzu for another...” She paused a moment as she rolled the second dice. “6.”

“Mei...” Yuzu said softly. Mei glanced away from her. “Thank you.” Yuzu added quickly. She'd forgotten they had company for a second.

“Taniguchi-Senpai!” Matsuri called.

“I'm going to charge the Troll.” Harumin said. She leaned forward, and picked up her mini, moving it up next to the troll. “And stab it, I guess.” She rolled her dice, and frowned.

“2 damage!” Matsuri declared.

“Why is it so low?” Nene asked.

“She doesn't get her sneak attack when she's fighting alone.” Matsuri explained. A cheeky grin flashed across her face. “She's kind of useless without Yuzu-Chan.” Nene blushed a bit, and grinned back.

“Please stop feeding her weird obsession.” Harumin snapped.

“I'm just telling her the truth!” Matsuri replied. “Anyway, the troll jumps back, and casts a spell, healing it's wounds. Nene, your turn!”

* * *

 

Another arrow flew past the brawl in the middle of the fight, and hit the troll. It screamed in pain. Yuzu swung her axe at the Orc in front of her, and then took an awkward half-step away from the pair of them, trying to avoid being outflanked.

* * *

 

“Is that right?” She asked.

“You should be safer there, yes.” Mei replied. Yuzu smiled.

“Now they have to move forward to hit you, so they can't use both weapons.”

“Thanks Mei! So uh, did I hit?” She looked to Matsuri. Matsuri nodded.

* * *

 

The axe impacted the Orc as Yuzu fell back, and it howled in pain once more. Himeko fired off another firebolt at the troll. It looked to be almost dead, so she threw a scorch on it as well. This time it went down, with a howl of anguish. Himeko shuddered.

“I wish they wouldn't all scream like that...” She complained. The Orcs advanced on Yuzu again, and swung their weapons at her. The axe hit again, but the dagger was poorly placed this time, and it got stuck in the furs.

“See? I told you the furs were a good idea!” Yuzu declared.

“You only ever said they'd be cute.” Mei replied.

“Well they are!” Yuzu insisted. “And they protected me.” Mei sighed, and cast another healing spell on her. Yuzu grinned.

“Thank you!” Harumin came charging up on the Orc in front of Yuzu. She rammed her dagger into it's back, and with a loud cry, it collapsed to the ground. The other Orc let out a furious scream as it's comrade fell.

“That doesn't sound very good.” Nene remarked. She fired another arrow at it. Yuzu turned and slammed her axe into it, and then stepped back again. The Orc didn't react to either hit. Himeko threw out another firebolt and a scorch on the Orc. It didn't flinch.

“What's up with it?” Yuzu asked. The Orc pounced towards her, and began stabbing with it's daggers.

* * *

 

“It gets four attacks after moving?” Yuzu asked.

“Yup. And they all hit. So that's another 24 damage.” Matsuri answered. Yuzu glanced down at her HP total. It was 23.

“I'm down.” She said softly.

“I'll take care of you.” Mei told her. “I'll cast Heal and Plea on her again.” Mei said, rolling her dice. “That's a 19, and then a 5.”

* * *

 

Yuzu climbed back to her feet just in time for Harumin to get up behind the Orc. She rammed her dagger into it's back. It barely flinched. Nene shot another arrow at it. She missed. Yuzu raised her axe high, and swung it down hard.

* * *

 

“So...I reduce my hit by one?” Yuzu asked.

“Yeah.” Matsuri said.

“And get a plus one on my damage?”

“That's right.” Yuzu picked up her dice and rolled.

“19!” She declared. “Wait...24! Sorry!”

“So close to a crit. Roll your damage.” Matsuri replied. Yuzu picked up her dice and rolled. It came up 12, the highest damage she could roll with this weapon.

“12! So...” She looked down at her bonuses for a second. “8 from strength, 1 from power attack...21 damage!”

* * *

 

Yuzu's axe embedded itself into the Orcs head. It stopped in it's tracks, and slowly toppled forward. Yuzu placed a foot on it, and with a tug, pulled her axe free.

“Let's go!” She said.

“What about their weapons? They might be better than yours.” Mei asked.

* * *

 

“That is how it works, right?” Mei asked, looking at Matsuri. Matsuri nodded.

* * *

 

“Oh yeah!” Yuzu replied. She grabbed the axes off the dead Orc, while Harumin grabbed the daggers. With their loot secured, they turned and ran for the boat.

The Galeborn man ushered them onto the boat, and threw the ramp aside. He flew onto the boat, while the crew began to raise the anchor. Once they were done, the boat began to drift forward.

“I'm glad to see you made it.” The man said, nodding to them.

“I'm just sad we couldn't help anyone else escape...” Yuzu remarked. The man shook his head.

“They wouldn't want to come with us anyway. Come, let's get you settled below decks.” He offered. He guided the girls below the decks, and showed them to a set of rooms. There were only four beds.

“What are we going to do about beds?” Harumin asked, as she collapsed onto her bed.

“Some of us will have to share!” Himeko declared. “I will volunteer to share a bed with the President.”

“The who?” Nene asked.

“I mean...Mei.” Himeko corrected herself quickly.

“I think Harumi and Yuzu should share a bed.” Nene suggested softly.

“Not happening.” Harumin declared quickly.

“Yuzu and I will share a bed.” Mei said after a moment.

“Huh? We will?” Yuzu asked. “I mean...of course we will!”

“But why?” Himeko protested.

“It is normal for sisters to share a bed.” Mei replied.

“Y-yeah!” Yuzu agreed quickly.

“Sounds good to me. Let's get some rest. I'm exhausted.” Harumin declared, as she pulled the sheets over herself.

* * *

 

“So, we rest, and then what?” Harumin asked.

“Well, you gained just enough experience to level up.” Matsuri said. “So let's take a break for lunch, and do that?”

“Yes!” Yuzu cheered. “I can rage again!”

“And you have to stop using your breastplate.” Mei said.

“What? I do?” Yuzu looked down at the sheet in front of her. The Berserker prestige class was sitting beside her, as she was the one taking levels in it. Sure enough, under restrictions, it listed losing Plate Proficiency. Yuzu sighed. “What am I gonna do...” She groaned.


	2. Origin of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day before the adventure starts, Matsuri leads the girls through the creation of their characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do apologize that this chapter is a flashback and not more of the adventure. I figured that if I left this for too long it'd feel weird and out of place, so we're jumping back a day to the character creation to give you all context for everyone's backstories, and how they relate to each other. Thankfully this is going to be the only interruption, so come the 15th, you'll be getting some good old boat action.

“Where do I start?” Yuzu asked, staring at the character sheet in front of her.

“You need to pick a class.” Matsuri replied. “Hang on, I've got the list here.” She pulled out a stack of papers, and handed them to Yuzu. Beside her, Harumin leaned in to read along. Nene climbed out of her chair, and walked behind them to look over Yuzu's shoulder. Yuzu flipped through the sheets slowly.

“Artificer, Beastmaster, Druid, Mage, Paladin, Priest, Ranger, Rogue, Shaman, Warrior, Warlock, Warlord.” Yuzu read each name as she flipped past them.

“Rogue sounds fun.” Harumin said, reaching over and plucking out the rogue pages. Each class had a few pages each, stapled together.

“What about you Nene? What do you want to play?” Yuzu asked.

“I don't know yet. What do we need?”

“One or two frontline fighters, a healer, and one or two ranged fighters. Someone with lots of skills is important too, but Taniguchi-Senpai already picked one of those.” Matsuri answered.

“What do you want to play Yuzu-Senpai?” Nene asked. Yuzu bit her lip.

“I think being on the frontline would be fun. That means I have to keep everyone else safe, right?” Yuzu asked. Matsuri nodded. “Then yeah, I'll do that!”

“That's just like you Yuzu-Chan.” Matsuri teased. “Paladin is a good class for that.”

“Is it?” Yuzu asked. She flipped through to the Paladin, and began reading. Paladin did seem like an interesting class. It got to do bonus damage to evil things, and got a lot of bonuses to helping allies. Or you could get a divine mount, and charge people, but Yuzu got the feeling that wasn't good for helping people.

“What about you Nene?” Matsuri asked.

“Um, is Harumi also a frontline fighter?”

“I think so.” Harumin replied, looking up from her sheets. “At least, it's easier to do bonus damage if I'm in melee.”

“Then I guess I'll take a ranged fighter.” Nene said. She reached over and picked out the other sheets, and began flipping through them. The three girls sat for a minute, reading over their classes.

“What do we do after classes?” Harumin asked.

“You need to make your attributes, then pick out skills, feats, and equipment.” Matsuri answered, counting the steps on her fingers.

“What are feats?” Nene asked.

“They're like the things you get for your class, but more generic. Like, swapping what you use to hit in melee, or giving you a berserker rage.”

“Can we see the feats?” Harumin asked with a very slight huff.

“Sure sure!” Matsuri answered. She handed over a small stack of papers. Harumin started reading through them, handing them off to Yuzu as she finished with each one. Yuzu put her class aside, and started scanning them. Berserker sounded interesting. Paladin looked like it would let Yuzu protect her friends, but the fact it had to be Lawful was kind of a turn off for her. She spent enough time dealing with rules at school. She read through a few more pages, before hitting a feat that jumped out at her.

“How high are our stats when we start?” Yuzu asked.

“Your highest is going to be 18 probably.” Matsuri answered.

“And...how do they go up?”

“You get a point every second level.”

“So, I'd need to be level four to get this feat?” Yuzu asked. “It needs 20 strength.”

“You get feats on odd levels, so you'd need to be level 5. What feat is it?”

“Titanic Strength.” Yuzu read aloud. “You may wield a two-handed weapon with a single hand. While doing so, you lose the strength bonus given by it's two-handed status. But it needs Mighty Blows and strength 20.”

“Why would you want that?” Harumin asked.

“So I could use two two-handed weapons.” Yuzu replied with a grin. A character was starting to form in her head. Yuzu the barbarian, wielding two large axes, and wearing super cute furs.

“You should take Warrior then.” Matsuri told her. “They get bonus feats. You could start with it if you wanted, but you'd need to take the two-weapon fighting feat as well or else it won't be very good.”

“Okay! Thanks Matsuri!” Yuzu picked up the Warrior class instead, and started reading. It was a single page. As Matsuri had said, at level one they got a feature that let them get a bonus feat with every feat they took. With it, Yuzu could both improve her ability to use axes, and get berserker.

“I'll play a Ranger!” Nene declared, looking up from the sheets.

 

With classes settled, the girls got stuck in to putting their sheets together. The attributes were easy enough, though they all came out looking a little the same. Yuzu and Nene both had an 18, and a pair of 16s, while Harumin opted to put a 20 in her dexterity, and only had a single 16. The other stats were rather low, though Yuzu made sure to put her charisma as high as possible after meeting her necessary stats.

“So, you all get two feats, since you're all playing humans.” Matsuri explained.

“I'll take Weapon Focus, and Power Attack!” Yuzu declared. “Which gives me Berserker and Mighty Blows, because of my Master of Arms thing.” Matsuri nodded.

“Taniguchi-Senpai, have you got yours worked out?”

“Weapon Finesse and Exploit Distraction.” Harumin replied.

“What do those do?” Yuzu asked, leaning over to look at Harumin's sheet.

“Weapon Finesse means I use dexterity instead of strength on my attack rolls, and exploit distraction, gives me sneak attack against anything that's in melee with someone else.” Harumin explained.

“Neat!” Yuzu replied. “What about you Nene?”

“I just took Point Blank Shot and Precise Shot.” Nene said. “I get a bonus to hit things that are close, and can ignore some cover.”

“Oh, that's cool I guess.”

“She needs Precise Shot to get to Vital Shot.” Matsuri explained. “Which adds her dexterity to her damage rolls.” Nene nodded.

“Oh! That is cool!” Yuzu said, smiling. Nene smiled back.

“Thank you.”

“Now, let's do skills.” Matsuri said. She was about to keep speaking, when the sound of the door opening interrupted her.

“I'm home.” Mei called out. She walked into the lounge room a moment later, Himeko in tow.

“We started without you. I hope that's okay.” Yuzu told her. Mei nodded.

“That's all right. I'm sorry we were late. Student Council work kept us back.” She explained.

“It's okay! So, Mei, what are you going to play?”

“I don't know. I don't know anything about this game.” Mei answered.

“What about you Himeko?” Yuzu asked. Himeko glanced away.

“I've already made my character.” She answered.

“What? No way, really?” Himeko sighed, and nodded.

“I'm playing a fire Mage, if that's okay.” She produced a sheet from behind her back, and handed it to Matsuri, before sitting opposite Yuzu. Mei took the seat between her and Matsuri, sitting opposite Harumin. Matsuri took the sheet, and skimmed over it.

“It looks okay. Can you show the others how to do skills? I'll run Mei-San over her character creation.” Matsuri asked. Himeko sighed, and nodded.

“I suppose if it helps.” She grumbled. She began explaining skills. Yuzu only half listened, as she zoned in more on Mei's conversation than Himeko. She could do skills when Mei got to them, if it was a problem.

“What should I play?” Mei asked.

“The party needs a healer, but if you don't want to, I could make one.” Matsuri answered. Mei shook her head.

“I don't mind. So, what am I doing?” Matsuri explained classes to Mei, and she started flipping through them, reading carefully. Yuzu switched her attention back to Himeko. She had the basics of skills at least.

“Are we using backgrounds?” Himeko asked.

“If you want. I was just going to give everyone the generic one.”

“What are backgrounds?” Harumin asked.

“They're like mini-feats. Some of them cost your starting feat. Most of the ones that don't are just adding two skills to your class skills.” Matsuri explained.

“All right.” Harumin said, looking down at her sheet again. Yuzu looked down at hers, and started comparing class skills to the skill list. She had almost no class skills. In the end she picked Diplomacy and Perform as her background skills, before putting points into Listen, Spot and Ride. They were boring choices, but she wasn't sure what else to do. Harumin and Nene meanwhile, had a long list of skills to pick from, and the skill points to match. So while she waited, she went back to listening to Mei.

“I'll play a priest.” Mei declared eventually. “Is that a good healing class?”

“It's the best healing class actually.” Matsuri replied. She started guiding Mei through attributes. Mei ended up spending her points in the same split as Yuzu, ending with an 18, two 16s, a 14 and a random 11. When she was done, she picked up the feats, and backgrounds, and started reading through them.

“I can read while you talk. Is there anything else that needs to be done?” Mei asked. Matsuri grinned and looked at the whole table.

“Just backstories!” She declared.

 

“I already have my backstory.” Himeko said.

“Well, what is it?” Matsuri asked. Himeko stood up, a grin on her face, and placed a hand to her chest.

“I'm a prodigious mage, who's been training for six months. I finished my entire class before the end of the year, and since the next classes haven't started yet, I'm going out to quest around the world!” She declared proudly.

“Interesting. The job you're responding to should take a year though, so you'd miss classes again.” Matsuri replied with an amused smirk. Himeko faltered.

“T-then...I completed my first year with such ease, that I was encouraged to take a gap year to get some practical experience!” She suggested. Matsuri leaned back in her chair, before nodding.

“That works, I suppose. Good one Eyebrow-Chan.”

“My name is not Eyebrow-Chan.” Himeko huffed.

“Speaking of which, what IS your character's name?” Himeko hesitated again.

“I...just had Himeko written down...” She admitted, looking quite embarrassed. Matsuri snickered.

“I was just going to put Yuzu for my name.” Yuzu interrupted, giving Matsuri a harsh scowl. Matsuri paused.

“Okay, okay, Himeko is a good name. It'll prevent any confusion.” Matsuri declared. “And how did you meet the others?”

“I...don't know.” Himeko answered. “How can I answer that question when they don't have characters yet?” Matsuri nodded.

“Alright, does anyone else have any ideas?”

“Can our characters be related to each other?” Mei asked suddenly. Matsuri turned to her with a massive grin.

“They can. Do you want to be related to someone Mei-San?” She asked. Mei nodded.

“I was thinking it would be best if Yuzu and I were sisters in game as well.” She said.

“Really?” Yuzu asked, grinning. Mei blushed a little, and looked away, brushing her hair behind her ear as she did so.

“I...wouldn't know how to act around Yuzu if she wasn't my sister.” Mei said softly.

“Mei...” Yuzu said softly.

“Alright, so Mei and Yuzu are sisters. What else?” Matsuri asked.

“Well...I want to be a barbarian!” Yuzu declared. “Is...that a thing?” Matsuri nodded.

“Kind of. Orcs barbarians are a thing. So are troll barbarians, but most humans aren't. Though there's some warbands you could've grown up in.”

“Oh, that sounds good, but how would Mei and I have been sisters? She's a priest, isn't she?” Yuzu wondered aloud.

“Are any of the warbands religious?” Mei asked. “I could have been given to a church, and grown up there, but reunited with Yuzu recently.”

“Oh! That's a great idea Mei!” Yuzu declared. Mei nodded.

“Thank you.”

“Alright, so we've got sisters from a warband and a church. What about you Taniguchi-Senpai?” Matsuri asked, looking at Harumin. Harumin grinned.

“I'm a thief!” She declared cheerfully.

“What?” Yuzu asked.

“I'm a thief. I steal things from rich people. But now I'm trying to get into adventuring.” Harumin explained.

“How did you learn to fight?” Matsuri asked. Harumin thought for a minute.

“I grew up in the carnival!” She said, looking very proud. “And learnt to throw knives.” Matsuri blinked, before laughing.

“Okay! That sounds fine to me.” She said, before looking across the table. “And what about you Nene?”

“Oh...I...I was just thinking I'd be a hunter's daughter...” Nene admitted. “But I can come up with something fancier!”

“That's fine!” Matsuri told her. “Simple backstories are good. So, now how did you all meet?”

“I left the church to find Yuzu.” Mei said.

“And then we ran away!” Yuzu added. Mei hesitated, before nodding.

“And ran into me?” Harumin asked. Yuzu nodded.

“Yeah!” She said. “And...maybe she could be the one who knew about the job?” Matsuri nodded.

“I was Mei's friend from her childhood.” Himeko volunteered. “Before I went to learn magic. My parents went to her church. So I looked for her to go adventuring with.” Mei nodded.

“That would work.” She replied.

“And...I heard about Yuzu's warband, and that she'd run away, so went to try and find her.” Nene declared.

“Why would you go and find her?” Himeko asked. Nene paused for a moment.

“Because her warband passed my house, and I got to see her fight.” Nene declared.

“Yeah! That's good! So that's how we all meet and get started on our journey, right?” Yuzu asked, looking at Matsuri. She smiled and nodded.

“That all works.” She said.

 

“Have you picked your feat yet Mei?” Yuzu asked. Mei nodded.

“I will take Spell Focus for my holy magic.” She said. “And then spend my other feat on a background, to start with a ring of protection. I understand AC is important?” Matsuri nodded.

“It is.”

“Good. And this ring will be something that was left with me to remember my family. If that's okay?” Matsuri nodded again. She turned her attention back to her sheet, and quickly jotted down her skill points. “What's next?”

“Equipment. For everyone. You all get armour and a weapon. Or, weapons.” Matsuri announced.

“I suppose I'll take some daggers.” Harumin declared. “And whatever armour a rogue can wear.”

“Leather.” Matsuri answered. Harumin nodded. “And you can have...twelve daggers. That sounds fair.” Harumin leant forward, and started scribbling on her sheet.

“I want a big axe!” Yuzu declared. “And...some armour that lets me use all my Dexterity.”

“A greataxe and a breastplate.” Matsuri told her. Across the table Nene was reading the equipment document. She looked up.

“I'll take a longbow, and some hide armour. If that's alright.” Matsuri nodded.

“And finally, Mei-San.” She said, turning her attention to Mei.

“Himeko suggested I take robes and a wand, so that's what I'll do.” Mei answered.

“Alright.” Matsuri said. She leaned back in her chair, and looked between everyone. “I think everyone's done. Except for Mei-San picking her spells out.” Mei immediately shuffled through the papers in front of her, before picking out the spell list, and beginning to read through it.

“How many spells do I get?” She asked.

“You get your Wisdom modifier in spells.” Matsuri answered.

“So, four.” Mei replied. “Okay.”

“Are we starting tonight?” Yuzu asked. Matsuri sighed and shook her head.

“I'd love to, but I have something to do tonight.”

“My big sister wants me home too.” Harumin grumbled quietly.

“So, tomorrow morning?” Yuzu asked. Matsuri nodded. Yuzu scanned the rest. Harumin and Nene were also nodding.

“I suppose I can come by early.” Himeko said, arms folded. She was trying to look annoyed. It wasn't working for her very well. Yuzu smiled.

“Thanks!”

“I'm done.” Mei said, a second later.

 

“The bath's free!” Yuzu called as she walked into the bedroom.

“Thank you.” Mei replied. She was sitting at her desk with a set of papers in front of her. She was leafing through them slowly. Yuzu flopped down onto the bed and looked over at her.

“What are you reading?” She asked.

“The rules.” Mei answered. Yuzu smiled.

“Really? I was just going to get Matsuri to explain things.” Yuzu told her.

“That's very irresponsible. We don't have that long to play.” Mei replied.

“I guess not.” Yuzu said. They fell silent for a minute. “Hey Mei?”

“Yes?”

“Could you explain the rules to me?” Yuzu asked. Mei sighed.

“After my bath.” She replied. Yuzu grinned.

“Thanks!” Mei stood up, and headed out to have a bath. Yuzu lay on the bed, thinking about the game. It was going to be fun. After a minute she stood up, and grabbed a notebook, before settling on the floor beside the bed. She grabbed a pen, and started drawing. She wasn't particularly good at it, but hopefully it'd stop her brain looping forever on the mental images she was having.

She sketched a very rough figure. It was meant to look like her, but she didn't think she'd gotten it right. She wasn't sure how to fix it either, so she just carried on. She drew in the hair, blonde and done up in pigtails, so it wouldn't get in her way while fighting. From there she moved down to the clothes. A metal breastplate to cover her chest, though leave a bit of her stomach exposed. Around her waist she wore a large pelt, tied with the arms of the animal to keep it in place, like the way she often wore her jumpers. She wasn't too sure what kind of pants she wanted. In the end she opted for something tight. Probably leather, but she didn't know that for sure. Then for her shoes, she drew in massive, furry boots. She added some matching wrist guards, and then finished the picture with an axe.

Yuzu held the picture up to admire it. It was terrible.

“Is that your character?” Mei asked from across the room. Yuzu jumped, and slammed the page down on the floor.

“N-No!” She stammered quickly. Mei walked over to her, and reached down to take the page. Yuzu clutched it tighter. Mei glanced at her for a second. It was a heavy, meaningful glance. Yuzu loosened her grip slowly, blushing and looking away. It wasn't fair how she could do that. Mei lifted the picture to look at it. For a moment she studied it.

“It's very you.” Mei said softly, before handing the picture back. “I like it.” Yuzu smiled up at her.

“Really?” She asked. Mei nodded.

“Now, I suppose I need to teach you how to play.” She said, changing the subject. Yuzu nodded.

“Yeah.”

“Do you know anything about the rules?” Mei asked. Yuzu shook her head. “Then we'll go over the basics of combat. Combat is broken up into turns, every turn you get a move action, and a standard action.” Mei began explaining as she settled back into her chair. She turned it a bit to face Yuzu, as she climbed up onto the bed. “A move action can be spent to move up to your movement speed, or a few other things. I'll give you a list for tomorrow. You'll just forget if I list them to you now.” Yuzu grinned sheepishly.

“Thanks.” She replied.

“A standard action can be spent on a second move action, or be used to attack, or do a few other things. I'll give you a list for those too.” Yuzu nodded. “To attack, you roll a d20, and then add your base attack bonus, your strength modifier, and any other bonuses you get. Like from weapon focus.”

“What's a d20?” Yuzu asked. Mei sighed, and then smiled.

“A twenty sided dice.” She explained.

“Okay, thanks Mei! What about free actions?”

“You can take as many free actions in one turn as you want.” Mei answered. “Why?”

“My rage feat said it was a free action.” Yuzu explained. Mei nodded. “So, what do I do after I roll my dice to attack?”

“If you hit, you roll your damage. That's the dice listed for your weapon, and then add your strength modifier. You have mighty blows, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you double your strength modifier on damage. If you roll a 20, you land a critical hit. This means you triple all of your damage.” Mei explained.

“Okay!” Yuzu declared. Mei turned to look at the rules again.

“I'm not sure you need to know that much more. Except Attacks of Opportunity.”

“What are those?” Mei sighed.

“You threaten any square that's next to you. Unless you have a reach weapon.” Mei placed a little emphasis on the word threaten, which Yuzu figured to mean it was a term from the game. She didn't seem comfortable with how she worded it. “If an enemy tries to leave a square you threaten, you may make an Attack of Opportunity on them. You can spend your whole move action to just move one square though, which doesn't provoke an Attack of Opportunity.” Yuzu nodded.

“Am I going to be making those often?” She asked. Mei shook her head.

“I was telling you so you wouldn't get hit.” Yuzu smiled.

“Thanks.” She said, before flopping back on the bed. “I can't wait for tomorrow.”

“You'll have to.” Mei teased her. Yuzu huffed.

“I know. But I don't want to.” Mei stood up, and walked over to the bed, before sitting next to Yuzu. She looked away.

“Was it okay, asking to play your sister?” She asked.

“Huh? Yeah, of course.” Yuzu replied. “Why wouldn't it be?”

“I thought you might want to...explore our relationship.” Mei answered. She lowered a hand towards Yuzu. Yuzu reached out and took it. Mei gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

“I don't mind.” Yuzu replied. “Did you um...what did you mean by you wouldn't know how to treat me if I wasn't your sister?” Mei looked over at her for a second, before glancing away.

“I meant that if you weren't my sister in game, I would likely do something inappropriate for the company we are keeping.” She answered. “And I do not want to run that risk. If you're my sister, I can explain away most intimacy we share.”

“Mei...” Yuzu said softly. She gave Mei's hand a tiny squeeze. Mei blushed, and looked over at her. For a moment, the two girls just looked into each other's eyes. Then Mei leaned down and gently kissed Yuzu.

“We should sleep.” She said. Yuzu nodded.

“I guess...”

 

Matsuri was the first one to arrive the next morning. Yuzu had just finished breakfast when there was a knock at the door.

“I'll get it.” She called. Matsuri grinned at her from the other side. She had a large bag hanging off her shoulder.

“Hey Yuzu-Chan.” She said.

“Hey Matsuri! Come on in.” Yuzu stepped back, and Matsuri made her way inside, removing her shoes, before beelining for the dining room table. She placed her bag on the table, and pulled out a large cardboard screen, which she placed at the head of the table, facing the window.

“Good morning Matsuri.” Ume said, as she stepped out of her bedroom dressed for work.

“Morning!” Matsuri replied.

“Oh, hey Mama. You don't mind if we have friends over today right?” Yuzu asked, grinning at her sheepishly. Ume sighed, and smiled.

“Of course not. Don't ruin the house.” She teased, as she made her way to the door.

“We won't!” Yuzu called. Ume got to the door, and opened it, to find a very startled Himeko about to knock.

“Oh...hello Mrs. Aihara.” She said awkwardly.

“Good morning. Mei and Yuzu are expecting you, I assume.” Ume said with a smile.

“Thank you.” Himeko replied. They stepped past each other, and Himeko closed the door behind her.

“Good Morning Mei Mei.” Himeko greeted her with a smile, before looking over at the others. “Aihara Yuzu, Mizusawa.”

“Morning!” Yuzu replied.

“Hey Eyebrow-Chan.” Matsuri said, flashing her a cheeky grin. Himeko sighed, and walked over to her seat from yesterday, settling down.

“Excuse me a moment.” Mei started walking towards the bedroom. While she was away, there was another knock at the door. Yuzu answered it, to find Harumin and Nene waiting.

“Yo!” Harumin said.

“Hello, come on in. I think we're about to start.” Yuzu said.

“We are!” Matsuri called. The three of them walked in, and settled into their places, Harumin to Matsuri's left, Yuzu beside her, and Nene at the foot of the table, with the balcony behind her. Himeko settled in opposite Yuzu, leaving the spot between her and Matsuri for Mei.

“Sorry for making you wait.” Mei said, as she settled into her spot. Yuzu smiled at her. Then she spotted her hand, and blushed.

“What's with the ring?” Harumin asked, pointing at Mei's hand. Mei held it up a little, to highlight the promise ring Yuzu had given her, sitting on her finger.

“It's a roleplaying aid.” She said. “I did some reading last night. Apparently a costume can help with roleplaying. I do not have a costume, but I can at least wear a ring like my character does.”

“Why is it on your ring finger?” Nene asked.

“Someone gave it to me a while ago. This is the only finger it fits.” Mei answered. She looked over at Matsuri. “Are we starting?” Matsuri glanced over at Yuzu and smirked.

“Yeah. So, you're all making your way to the village together, after just hearing about this job offer. Rumours have been following your trip, about a large orc warband in the area...”


	3. A Voyage of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having escaped the fire at the village, eaten lunch and gained a level, the party travels out to the island village, to meet the people they'll be saving.

“Yuzucchi!” Harumi called across the room.

“Yeah?” Yuzu called back.

“This is delicious!” Harumi told her. Yuzu grinned.

“Thanks Harumin.”

“I'm surprised you can cook Aihara Yuzu.” Himeko commented.

“She cooks dinner most nights.” Mei replied. Himeko let out a soft huff.

“I see.” She said.

“Thank you Yuzu-Senpai!” Nene said as Yuzu made her way back to the table and sat down with her own food.

“No worries! I enjoy cooking too much to let you all go without.” She said.

“See? Isn't she going to be a good wife?” Harumi teased, taking another bite of food. “Honestly, I might try and steal her for myself.” Nene blushed and hid her face while Mei seemed to shift a little uncomfortably.

“What? There's no way I could...” Yuzu started to protest. Matsuri and Harumi laughed.

“I'm teasing you Yuzucchi!” Harumi reassured her. “But you have to teach me how to make this sometime.” Yuzu let out a relieved sigh, and smiled.

“Sure thing!” She replied. She looked down at the sheet in front of her. “So, what do I have to do to level up?”

“You add the numbers from your new class to the ones on your sheet.” Matsuri told her, leaning across the table to point.

“Okay.” Yuzu said with a mouthful of food.

“Aihara Yuzu, please don't talk with your mouth full.” Himeko scolded her.

“Sorry.” Yuzu replied, her mouth still full. Harumi giggled. The conversation fell quiet, as everyone ate. Yuzu and Matsuri kept working through levelling her up. Everyone else had already done theirs while Yuzu cooked. Yuzu's character was thankfully the quickest, as she didn't have any choices to make. They finished eating, and cleared the table, before settling back in to keep playing.

“So are we waking up the next day on the boat?” Nene asked.

“Nope! Give me a moment, and I'll set the scene for you.” Matsuri replied.

 

*****

 

Harumin sighed. She was standing on the deck of the boat, staring out to sea. They'd been sailing for a week, with no sign of arriving soon. Footsteps sounded behind her. Heavy, but fast footsteps.

“Hey Yuzucchi.” She said.

“How'd you know it was me?” Yuzu asked with a huff, as she leant on the railing beside Harumi.

“You're too heavy.” Harumin replied, she turned to grin at Yuzu, and reached out, pinching her stomach and pulling it lightly. “Someone's been eating a bit too much!” Yuzu giggled, and stepped backwards.

“Harumin! Stop it!” She protested. Harumin laughed, and kept going for a moment, before letting go and sighing. “What's wrong?”

“I'm just...bored.” Harumin declared. “There's nothing to do here Yuzucchi!” Yuzu nodded.

“I knowww!” She groaned. “What do you do back home anyway?”

“Shopping.” Harumin replied. “What about you?”

“Well, I used to fight for fun, but since Mei showed up I haven't...” Yuzu answered. Harumin nodded, and turned around, placing her back on the rails and looking at the ship. Yuzu moved to join her. Across the ship Mei and Himeko were talking, while Nene was chatting with some sailors, and showing off her bow.

“Speaking of which.” Harumin said, leaning towards Yuzu and giving her a sly grin. “How are things with your sweet little sister?” Yuzu blushed, and looked flustered for a second.

“They're good! Great! Just great!” She replied quickly.

“Don't mind sharing a bed with her?”

“It was weird at first! But I think I'm used to it.” Yuzu answered, looking much calmer already.

“That's good. From what I hear, the tavern isn't very big on the island.” Harumin teased. “So you might be bunking for a while.”

“That's fine!” Yuzu replied, a little too quickly. Harumin laughed softly, and leaned back.

 

*****

 

“Taniguchi-Senpai” Matsuri called in an annoyingly happy voice.

“Yeah?” Harumi asked.

“Make a listen check.” Matsuri replied. Harumi sighed, and picked up the dice. She rolled. The dice settled on a 2.

“9.” She said with a sigh.

“Yuzu-Chan, could you make one too?”

“Oh, sure.” Yuzu replied, rolling her own dice. “I got an 11.”

“Alright, neither of you hear anything.”

“What about me?” Nene asked. Matsuri leaned forward to peer at the map of the boat.

“Yeah, okay, roll a listen check.” She replied reluctantly. Nene grabbed the dice and rolled.

“24!” She declared with a grin. Matsuri sighed.

“Alright, you hear something moving from the water behind Harumi.” She replied.

 

*****

 

“Harumi! Behind you!” Nene called suddenly. Harumin looked over her shoulder, just in time to see a large tentacle advancing on her. Before she had time to react, it was wrapped around her waist, and had hoisted her into the air.

“Yuzucchi!” She screamed, as the world twisted around her.

“Harumin!” Yuzu shouted back, drawing her axe. She looked about to jump off the boat, when four more tentacles appeared around the boat.

“It's a Kraken!” The Captain shouted. “All hands to battle stations!” Harumin struggled against the tentacle, while below her the others got ready to fight.

 

*****

 

“So, what can I do?” Harumi asked.

“You can struggle and try and get free. You roll your Dex, vs it's Strength for that. Or you could draw your daggers and stab it.” Matsuri explained. Harumi nodded.

“I swear, if this is some weird hentai thing...” She muttered. Matsuri laughed, before grinning mischievously.

“Taniguchi-Senpai, why would you think that?” She asked, the picture of innocence. Harumi paused, and sighed. Yuzu and Nene both laughed, and Harumi couldn't help but join in.

“Alright, alright. I guess I'll stab it.” She declared. She reached for the dice. “One or two attacks?” Matsuri held up one finger. Harumi rolled.

“18! That makes it a crit now, right?” She asked.

“Uh, yes, it does.” Matsuri replied. Harumi grinned, and grabbed her damage dice.

“Sneak?” She asked. Matsuri nodded again. Harumi grabbed a second pair of dice, and added them to her hand, before rolling.

“Let's see...1, 3, 6, and 4.” She read out the values as she found them. “So fourteen!”

 

*****

 

Harumin squirmed against the tentacle that was wrapped around her. She could feel it's suckers attached to her, and knew she couldn't get out. Thankfully, her hands were free, and with a little work she could bend to reach one of the daggers she kept strapped to her leg. She pulled it out, and brought it down on the tentacle. It flailed around in response, and Harumin tried not to throw up. It settled down after a moment, just in time for a small ball of flames to hit the tentacles next to her. Harumin screamed at the heat.

“Don't burn me alive please!” She shouted.

“Don't squirm so much then!” Himeko shouted back. An arrow smacked into the tentacle, a few feet down it's length, and it shuddered. Harumin felt it's grip loosen ever so slightly. Below her she heard Yuzu shout, and the sound of her footsteps on the deck. They stopped for a second, before there was a loud thump. Harumin had no idea what was happening below her. The tentacle wrapped around her tightened, and she cried out in pain.

With a little effort Harumin slipped a dagger from her sleeve, and stabbed both of them into the tentacle. There was a loud squeal, and the tentacle unwrapped from her, leaving Harumin to fall to the deck below. She tucked herself in, and rolled across the deck as she landed, before jumping back to her feet.

 

*****

 

“That was so cool!” Nene squealed. Harumi smiled.

“It was just a lucky roll.” Himeko grumbled.

“And my dexterity modifier!” Harumi snapped. “Though, really I should've put ranks into tumble.”

“Why didn't you?” Yuzu asked. Harumi shrugged.

“The other skills looked more important. I wasn't expecting to be hoisted into the air all that often.” She answered.

“Anyway, Mei-San, it's your turn.” Matsuri declared. Mei looked across the table at Harumi.

“How hurt are you?” She asked calmly.

“Saying your health is meta-gaming.” Matsuri said. She sounded like she was teasing, but Harumi wasn't sure. She cleared her throat.

“Well, if someone asked me to describe my pain, on a scale of 1 to 25, I'd probably have to say about a 5.” She answered, giving Matsuri a small wink. Matsuri sighed, and laughed.

“Geez Taniguchi-Senpai, you're such a cheater.” She whined playfully.

“In that case, I'll only cast a plea.” Mei said. “I don't need to roll do I?” Matsuri shook her head. “Good. You're fully healed, Harumin.” She seemed awkward as she said Harumi's nickname. Harumin smiled.

“Thanks!” She replied. She wasn't sure what was bringing on the use of her nickname, but she could see Yuzu grinning out of the corner of her eye, so she wasn't going to discourage it.

“Now, Mei-San, would you please roll your strength?” Matsuri asked, picking up her own dice and rolling it.

“7.” Mei replied.

 

*****

 

Harumin barely hit the floor when she saw Mei get scooped up by another tentacle.

“Yuzu!” Mei and Harumin shouted together. Yuzu looked over and gasped.

“Mei!” She shouted. Himeko threw a spell at the tentacle. It seemed to explode with fire from the inside, which engulfed the majority of it, not quite reaching Mei. Nene fired off another arrow, though this one flew wide. Yuzu set off at a run towards the tentacle, but a third one dropped in front of her, and she pulled up short to smack at it with her axe.

 

*****

 

“Why am I stopping here? I can reach you!” Yuzu protested Mei's instructions.

“I know you can, but Himeko has just amplified her damage against the tentacle, and I can heal a round or two of damage, so you should focus on taking down another one.” Mei explained calmly. Yuzu sighed.

“Okay...” She whined, and rolled her damage dice.

“We'll say you got interrupted.” Matsuri suggested. “So it doesn't break character.” Yuzu smiled.

“That sounds good, thanks!”

 

*****

 

Harumin took a quick look around the deck. Most of the other tentacles were being engaged by the sailors. That only left the one Yuzu was fighting, and the one with Mei. There was no way she could throw her daggers far enough to help Mei. So she focused her attention alongside Yuzu, and threw both daggers at that tentacle. They both missed, falling short and sticking out of the deck between Yuzu and Harumin.

Himeko fired off another firebolt at the tentacle holding Mei, and it writhed wildly in response, while Mei cried out in pain.

“Mei!” Yuzu shouted.

“Mei-Mei!” Himeko called. She cast a pair of quick spells, and the tentacle thrashed around in even more pain as it was burned. Nene fired another arrow, this one his, and the tentacle shuddered, and dropped Mei back onto the deck of the boat. Yuzu let out a sigh of relief, and laid into the tentacle in front of her with renewed vigor. Her axe bit deep into the monster, and it pulled away with a distressed squeal.

 

*****

 

“Having learnt it's lesson, the kraken's tentacles pull away, and it swims off to sulk over being stabbed and burnt.” Matsuri declared.

“I'm not feeling guilty for defending myself.” Himeko protested. Harumi nodded.

“He had it coming.” She agreed.

“Anyway!” Matsuri interrupted them. “You all earn 300 experience.” Everyone started writing the experience down on their sheets. “And you sail on for another three boring days, before finally the island comes into view. It's a tropical island, lush with jungle, with two large mountains. The entire island slopes away from the mountain peaks, and it's clear that this island is really just the tip of two giant submerged mountains. It takes a few more hours but you sail into port, to find a small village. A few large buildings dominate the centre, but most of the village is comprised of small, two-story houses. A crowd is waiting on the docks, waving as you come in.”

 

*****

 

Yuzu and Harumin waved back to the crowds. The boat settled into the dock, and was tied in. Once it was secure, the gangplank was thrown down, and the girls descended into the crowd.

“Are you the Heroes who have come to save us?” A young girl asked with a big grin.

“Yup!” Yuzu replied. “I'm Yuzu! Pleased to meet'cha!” She flashed the crowd a charming grin, and half waved, half saluted at them. The crowds cheered, and pressed closer with questions.

“Alright, alright, we're all very excited.” A woman's voice called across the crowds. “But give them some space, they've just gotten here. There'll be more time in the evening.” The crowds pulled back a bit, and parted to reveal a middle-aged woman with pink hair looking at them.

“Thank you!” Yuzu called out to her, and set off forward. Harumin followed at her side, while the others lagged a bit behind. Yuzu thrust a hand forward. “Nice to meet you...”

“Matsuri.” The woman replied.

 

*****

 

“Really?” Himeko asked.

“What? She's an important NPC. It's easier than using her English name.” Matsuri argued.

“What's her English name?” Himeko asked. Matsuri sighed, and looked down at the papers in front of her.

“Samantha Brown.” She read out awkwardly.

“That's not very hard.” Mei said.

“I'd rather just call her Matsuri.” Nene said softly. Yuzu nodded.

“It'd be easier.” She agreed.

“Did she also have pink hair originally?” Haumi asked casually. Matsuri sighed.

“Matsuri leads you all away from the crowds, and back to a building, stepping inside you find yourself in a tavern.”

 

*****

 

“I'm very sorry, we only expected to be receiving four heroes, so we don't have a fifth bed prepared.” Matsuri apologised as they walked in.

“That's alright.” Mei said. “My sister and I have been sharing a bunk on the boat. I imagine this will be much more pleasant.” Matsuri nodded.

“Oh, it will be! The local birds produce feathers that make for wonderful mattresses.” She declared. “So, take a seat, I'm sure you're all itching to get to work after being cooped up for so long.”

“That sounds good.” Yuzu said, as they all settled down around a table. Matsuri walked behind the bar, before returning a moment later, and laid out a map.

“We're here.” She said, pointing to the western side of the map, where “Newport” was written. A small area around the town was detailed with a cave to the north, and a set of ruins to the south. The coastline was also filled in with a few details, however the rest of the map was blank. “This cave to the north has some large spiders in it that are giving us trouble. And those ruins have skeletons living in them, but it's much less of a problem.” She explained.

“So, let's start with the spiders, I guess?” Harumin asked. Yuzu nodded as she stared at the map.

“I think that's the best idea.” She agreed.

“And then are we doing the skeletons?” Himeko asked.

“If they're not causing any trouble yet, perhaps we should look further afield first?” Mei suggested. “Our job here is to ensure the safety of the town. If these skeletons are not posing an immediate threat, it would be prudent to search for a more imminent danger.”

“Good thinking Mei!” Yuzu replied. “So, Nene, would you think about how we're going to go scouting?”

“Why me?” Nene asked. She looked like a deer in headlights.

“Because, you're the only one with any experience in places like this.” Yuzu answered. “Is that okay?”

“Oh. Um. Yes, I suppose so.” She said. Yuzu smiled.

“Thanks! Are we ready to get going?” She asked, looking around. Everyone nodded.

“I could do with a warm up.” Harumin answered with a grin.

 

The trip out to the cave took them a few hours. On one occasion they got lost, but they managed to get back on the trail, and as the sun was starting to set, they found themselves at the entrance.

“Well...here we go.” Yuzu said. She didn't sound nearly as confident now that they were here.

“What's the matter Yuzucchi?” Harumin asked, leaning against her with a big grin. “Are you scared of the dark? Or just the spiders?”

“No!” Yuzu replied quickly. “It's just...gross.” She complained. Harumin couldn't fault her there. The cave smelt of death, and webs were visible lining the walls and roof of the cave.

“Yeah...it kinda is...” Harumin agreed.

“Oh suck it up you babies.” Himeko snapped. She stepped forward, and pointed her wand into the cave, before firing off a glowing, firey orb. It flew slowly through the air, lighting up the cave, before settling onto the ground and vanishing. Inside the cave, the webs were still present, but less so. No spiders were visible in the light of the short-lived flare. “See? Nothing to worry about.” Himeko declared. She pulled out a torch, and lit it. Mei did the same.

“You two will have to do all the torch carrying.” Harumin said. “We all need two hands to fight.”

“That's fine by me.” Himeko huffed.

“I don't mind either.” Mei said. “However Yuzu should take the lead.”

“Why me?” Yuzu protested.

“Because, you're the toughest one of us.” Mei answered. “If something bad were to attack us, it would be best if you were the one to face it. I will be right behind you.”

“Fine, fine, geez.” Yuzu grumbled, as she started to make her way into the cave. Mei followed close behind her. Harumin took the centre position, with Himeko behind her, and Nene bringing up the rear. They made their way into the cave slowly, stopping occasionally to clear some webs away, or make sure that someone's footing was right. Then they came to a sudden stop, as a terrifying noise echoed through the caves.

 

*****

 

Yuzu screamed. Matsuri laughed. Harumi looked over in confusion, to see a large spider resting on Yuzu's shoulder. She jumped back for a second before realising it was a toy. Yuzu threw it off in a panic, and jumped out of her chair, stumbling back from it before starting to calm down.

“Yuzu-Chan, you should've seen your face!” Matsuri exclaimed. Harumi started to chuckle a little. Nene and Himeko joined in, while Mei simply smiled.

“That's not funny! How did you even do that?” Yuzu protested. Matsuri pointed to the ceiling, where a string hung with a small metal clasp on it.

“I tied it up while you were making lunch.” She explained with a grin.

“I didn't see it.” Harumi commented.

“I did it while you were in the bathroom, and Mei was fetching something from her room.” Matsuri declared, looking very proud of herself. Yuzu huffed.

“That's mean of you Matsuri.” She scolded as she settled back into her chair.

“Anyway, a spider does land on you Yuzu, what are you doing?” Matsuri asked.

 

*****

 

After a moment of panic, Yuzu smacked the spider off her shoulder, sending it flying across the cave. She let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank god that's over.” She muttered. “Hey, Himeko, could you scout ahead for us again?”

“Alright, if it'll stop you screaming again.” Himeko agreed. She cast again, and threw a flare deeper into the cave. It immediately lit up two very large spiders, just forty feet in front of Yuzu. Yuzu screamed again.

 

*****

 

“The spiders have been waiting for you, but you only just saw them, so they get a surprise round.” Matsuri explained. She leaned over the battle map, and placed down two large spider models, before moving them forward, to both stop in front of Yuzu. “And then they both attack.” She said as she rolled. “Yuzu, what's your AC?”

“17.” Yuzu replied, sounding very anxious.

“Oh, that's not good.” Matsuri remarked. “Give me two fort saves please.”

“9 and 16.” Yuzu read from the dice.

“Okay, so you move 5 feet slower and take 15 damage.” Matsuri announced. Yuzu groaned. “And now we can all roll initiative.” Everyone rolled their initiative, and read it out to Matsuri.

“Taniguchi-Senpai, you're first.”

 

*****

 

Harumin threw her two daggers at one of the spiders. They both landed in one of it's many eyes, and it squealed in pain. Nene reacted a second slower, loosing an arrow into the spider. Before anyone else could contribute to the assault, the two spiders bit Yuzu again, and she cried out in pain. One of them seemed to have missed, though Harumin couldn't be sure from here. The cry turned into a howl of rage and Yuzu swung her axe, smashing it into the face of the first one they'd targetted. It let out a loud, pained squeal.

Himeko followed up, casting two spells on the spider. The first, caused the whole thing to catch fire, and begin burning slowly. This was immediately followed by the flames roaring up around it's face. Finally, Mei took her chance to cast. Yuzu glowed for a second, and glanced over her shoulder, nodding at Mei.

“Thanks Mei!” She said.

 

*****

 

“Seriously? She healed you for 21?” Matsuri asked, staring at the dice in shock. There was an 8 and a 7 facing her. Mei nodded.

“After you add my attribute and feat bonuses, yes.” Mei said. Masuri sighed, and waved her hand.

“Alright, alright, Taniguchi-Senpai, it's your turn.”

“I'll draw two daggers, and throw one of them at the spider.” Harumi replied. She grabbed the dice and rolled again. It came up 16. She didn't wait for the confirmation, grabbing her damage dice and rolling quickly. “5 Damage! Nene's turn?” Matsuri nodded.

“I'll shoot it again.” Nene said. She rolled. “2. That's a miss right?”

“Sure is. So back to the spiders.” Matsuri declared. She leaned forward, and grabbed the spider they'd been fighting. “He starts limping off into the shadows. While the other one tries to bite Yuzu-Chan again.” She rolled the dice. “And hits!”

“I need to roll another fort save right?” Yuzu asked.

“Yes please. And take 6 damage.” Matsuri answered. Yuzu rolled her dice.

“7, so...16.” She declared.

“You pass!” Matsuri announced! She seemed like she was trying very hard to be excited.

 

*****

 

Yuzu slammed her axe into the second spider. It stumbled back slightly and hissed angrily. Himeko ran forward, past Yuzu and a short distance past the spider too. The light of her torch caught up to the spider, and she immediately started casting again, throwing two spells after it. The spider screeched, and rolled to the side, before curling it's legs underneath itself.

 

*****

 

Beside Harumi, Yuzu shuddered slightly.

“Gross...” She complained softly.

“Right? Why does she have to always be so graphic.” Himeko agreed.

“Hey! It's how spiders die!” Matsuri argued. “Anyway, Mei-San, take your turn.” Mei chewed her lip as she looked at the battlefield. She reached across the table and picked up her model, before moving it back a bit.

“I'm done.” She declared calmly.

 

*****

 

Harumin ran forward, drawing a dagger from her vest as she went. She jumped the last step, and jammed the dagger into the spider's leg. If twitched the leg violently in response, and Harumin grinned. Nene fired another arrow into the spider's face. It hardly seemed to notice as it tried to take another bite out of Yuzu. It's teeth sunk in deep, and Yuzu let out a soft cry. Her legs looked to be shaking, but she swung again, trying to kill the spider before it took her down. Despite her best efforts, the poison seemed to be getting her, as the spider managed to dodge around her axe. Himeko fired off another set of spells at the spider, and it screeched in terror.

 

*****

 

“What?” Matsuri asked in shock.

“Mhm!” Himeko replied smugly. “28 damage!”

“How?” Matsuri asked, leaning over to look. Himeko pointed to her two dice, showing a 4 and an 8, the highest numbers available for each.

“And then I add 4 from my int mod to each, and then another 4 from my feats.” She explained. Matsuri sighed.

“Alright. Great.” She said through gritted teeth.

 

*****

 

Mei fired off another healing spell at Yuzu. She was coated in glowing magic for a second, and the bites closed themselves quickly.

“Thanks Mei!” Yuzu called.

“You don't need to thank me every time.” Mei chided her softly. Harumin laughed at their bantering, and dived into stabbing the spider. It screeched in pain, and shuddered. It looked about to make a run for it. Nene fired off a final arrow, piercing it's eye, and going straight into the skull. The spider's legs curled under it, and it rolled onto it's back.

“Yes I do!” Yuzu said, turning to look at Mei. “Otherwise you might forget I appreciate it.”

 

*****

 

Across the table from Harumi, Mei blushed slightly, and looked away.

“I won't, so stop wasting your time.” She replied.

“So, experience.” Matsuri declared. “You all get 600 experience.”

“Can we search the cave for loot?” Mei asked. Matsuri nodded.

“Sure can! Give me search rolls everyone!” She called. There was a clattering of dice, followed by a chorus of numbers. “Mei's highest with a 22, so she finds a small cache of items in the back of the cave. It appears a few other adventurers have come through here. You find a magical longbow, a set of magical hide armour, a few potions, and a pile of...70 silver coins.”

“How much is a coin worth?” Harumi asked.

“A silver coin is worth 100 copper coins.” Matsuri answered. “And a dagger costs 3 silver coins, for reference.”

“Thanks.” Harumi said. “Are we splitting it evenly?”

“Why don't we keep it in a communal pot?” Nene suggested. “And we'll just track who spends on what?”

“That sounds good!” Yuzu agreed.

“I see nothing wrong with it.” Mei answered. Harumi sighed.

“Alright, fine.” She said. She didn't care if they did it, but she was playing a thief. Money was meant to be her character's goal. “So, we're heading back now?” She asked.

“Yeah!” Yuzu said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally I was going to write entirely from Yuzu's perspective, but for some reason I decided I wanted to do a Harumin chapter. I think a lot of it was I've been writing Harumin as too grumpy it feels like. So I've been trying to get her a bit more relaxed and easy-going. Did I do a good job here? Who fucking knows. Not me. Anyway, next up is a Nene chapter, since her character will be the focal one of the next bit, and then we'll end the session on a Mei chapter.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed! As always, comments are much appreciated!


	4. Love Exploring!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next morning the group talks about life, discusses plans, and Nene goes scouting.

The party walked into the tavern, and immediately made their way upstairs to crash into bed. It was late, and they were all exhausted. Nene passed out almost immediately. The next morning she woke early, and made her way downstairs. Only Mei and Matsuri were awake. Mei sat at the table, staring at the map as she ate breakfast. Matsuri waved.

“Good morning! Would you like some breakfast?” She asked. Nene nodded.

“Yes please.” She replied quietly, and moved to sit with Mei. Mei glanced up at her.

“Good morning Nene.” She said calmly. Nene smiled.

“Good morning Mei.” She replied hesitantly. Mei didn't seem to notice, as she looked back down at the map.

“You don't mind going scouting for us, do you?” Mei asked, as she picked up some toast, and placed it in her mouth. Nene shook her head.

“No, it should be okay.” She replied.

“Good. I'm sorry to send you out alone, but none of us are very skilled in these matters.” Mei replied. She paused for a moment. “Perhaps Harumin is, but you'd have to ask her.”

“It's okay. I can do it!” Nene insisted. “So um...could you tell me more about Yuzu?” Mei looked up, surprised.

“I...suppose so. What would you like to know?” She asked.

 

*****

 

Mei seemed very slightly defensive as she responded. Nene wasn't sure if this was meant to be in character or not. Her tone at least seemed open, so she guessed it wasn't. It could just be a habit. They were sisters, and Yuzu was a trouble-maker at school. That was probably it, Nene decided.

 

*****

 

“How did you two get back in touch?” Nene asked. Mei leaned back and hummed.

“I didn't even know she existed for most of my life.” Mei began to answer. “Growing up, all I knew was I was given to the church to grow up as a priest. I didn't think to ask until last year. The priestess in charge said I could know when I finished my training. So when I finished, and they told me about my family, I decided to go and get to know them.”

“So what happened?” Nene pressed.

“Yeah, what happened?” Harumin asked, as she sat beside Nene. Nene jumped slightly. She hadn't heard Harumin walk in. Mei sighed.

“I left the church, and went to find them. It didn't take long to come across the warband. But when I got there, it was clear I didn't belong. I went to leave, but Yuzu wouldn't let me leave alone. She demanded I stay. When I didn't, she insisted on coming with me instead.” Mei explained.

“That was when I met you, right?” Nene asked. Mei paused, and nodded.

“I believe so. What happened there?”

 

*****

 

“Smooth Mei-San. Very smooth.” Matsuri teased.

“Huh? What did she do?” Yuzu asked.

“She gave a vague answer, and let Nene take over to tell her own backstory.” Matsuri explained.

 

*****

 

“Well, when Yuzu's warband camped near my town, they hosted a contest! It was like a fair. Were you there for that?” Nene asked. Mei nodded. “Okay, so I went down with my friends, and we watched the wrestling contests. That's where I saw Yuzu. She just looked so cool! Everyone else there seemed to go along with each other, and even though they were a warband they all seemed kind of trapped by it. But Yuzu was just being herself. I wanted to be more like her. So when I heard that she'd run off with you, I chased after you. But you got enough of a head start that I didn't catch up until after you'd met up with Harumin and Himeko.” Mei smiled.

“We're very glad you did.” Mei told her.

 

*****

 

“You know Mei-San, you can actually smile, instead of just saying it.” Matsuri said, snickering.

 

*****

 

“Thank you.” Nene replied, smiling back. “What about you Harumin? How did you end up with the others?”

“I saw them in a tavern!” Harumin declared.

“Who did you see in a tavern?” Himeko called, as she and Yuzu walked into the room as well.

“You, Mei and Yuzu.” Harumin answered. “I just got done with a job, and needed to get away while things cooled down, so when I saw this job, I thought it would be perfect. But I didn't have anyone to come with me. So as I headed towards the village, I listened in taverns for people looking for work. And then I saw Yuzu, and I knew we'd get along great!”

“How did you know?” Nene asked.

“Because, she had her hair up in those ridiculous pigtails.” Harumin teased, glancing over at Yuzu. Yuzu scowled back at her, before they both started laughing.

“I thought you asked for my help because you thought I could fight.” Yuzu replied. Harumin nodded.

“That's why I asked for help. I started talking because I knew we'd be best friends.” She said.

“Thanks Harumin.” Yuzu said. Harumin smiled at her.

 

*****

 

Nene blushed, and quickly shook her head to dismiss the thoughts. Harumi complained when she was too open about her fantasies. She looked to Mei for to try and find a distraction, but paused. Starting the scene talking to Mei had been a little nerve-racking, as the only time they'd really spoken was when Mei had grilled her about her interest in Yuzu. But since Mei had started the conversation, she'd managed. Trying to start a conversation with Mei however was asking a bit too much. She looked at Himeko, but she wasn't an easier option.

 

*****

 

“So, I should get going to do some scouting, right?” Nene declared. “I'm done with breakfast, so I'll get on it immediately!”

“Take the map with you. There's enough copies that we can afford to lose one.” Mei said.

“Okay!” Nene replied, picking the map up. “I'll be back as soon as I can!” She ran out the door, and started to make her way towards the cave.

 

*****

 

“So, where are you going?” Matsuri asked. Nene stared at the map on the tablet in front of her. It was a hex map that was mostly greyed out. She could see the village, and the surrounding jungle, including the cave, and the ruins they'd been told about. Beyond that, there was the coastline, the central two mountains, and a few smaller mountain tiles several tiles away from the coast.

“This was mapped out from boats?” Nene asked, looking up at Matsuri. She nodded.

“That's right! So they only have what they can see from the boat.” She explained.

“And what do I see when I move around?” Nene asked.

“You see the tile you're in. If you get higher up, you can see more tiles.” Matsuri answered. Nene nodded, and looked at the map again. The cave was four tiles from the village. The nearest mountain from there was another five tiles north. Since the cave had taken a few hours, Nene guessed the mountain would take a day.

“I'll go to the mountain, and spend whatever time I have left in the day mapping out the surrounding area.” Nene declared.

“Are you sure?” Matsuri asked. Nene wasn't sure at all. She looked around at the others for a second. Most of them weren't paying attention. Except for Yuzu, who was smiling at her reassuringly. Nene smiled back, and nodded.

“I'm sure!” She replied.

 

*****

 

The trip to the mountain took most of the day. When Nene emerged from the jungle below the sun was edging towards the horizon. She was exhausted, and collapsed onto the ground to catch her breath. She didn't have time to rest though. She needed to make camp, and get some mapping done before the sun set. She quickly pitched her tent, and started a small fire, before starting to look at the surrounding area. It was beautiful to see. North was a large valley that ran up into the main mountain. In comparison to the main mountain, Nene's was more like a very tall hill. She took a bit of time to estimate the distance, before sketching it onto the map. By the time she was done, the sun had set, and so she settled in to sleep.

The next morning Nene woke up with the sun, and climbed out into her camp. She had a few days rations, so she could afford to stay here another day without hunting if need be. So she did. She spent the day looking at the jungle, trying to spot anything she could. Matsuri had given her a spyglass before she left, and so she used it to spot little details.

 

*****

 

“You can't just ask for things after you've left like that. Next time I'm not giving it to you.” Matsuri grumbled.

“Thank you! I'd just have to go back if I didn't have it!” Nene replied.

 

*****

 

A big thing she noticed was the valley that ran into the mountain seemed to end at a large, ruined temple. Nene couldn't make out any details, but the structure gave her the creeps, and she got the feeling that it probably had more undead.

Further north, there was a series of stone pillars. A few were already marked on the map, but Nene pencilled in the others. She guessed they were shorter, so couldn't be seen over the trees. Closer to her, she could see a lot of small landmarks. There were lakes and rivers weaving through the area, and Nene marked them all onto the map, trying to include any details she could see to help with navigating them later. By the time she'd finished mapping the rivers, the sun was setting.

Nene slept one more night on the mountain, before packing up camp in the morning, and heading back. She got back to the village as the sun was setting, and made her way into the tavern. She was immediately tackled by Yuzu.

“Nene! We missed you! We were so worried!” She exclaimed.

“I'm sorry!” Nene said quickly, hugging back awkwardly. “I was just being thorough.”

“It's okay!” Yuzu said, pulling back and nodding. “Show us what you found!” She exclaimed. Nene nodded.

“Okay!” She agreed.

 

Nene laid out the map that she'd drawn on, and pointed to the mountain she'd camped on.

“So, I made my way here, and looked around to see what I could find. The hardest bit was mapping the rivers.” She began explaining, shifting to point at the rivers. “But I wanted them recorded so we had landmarks in that region. Beyond that there was a valley, which ends in another ruins, and then these weird pillars to the north.” Nene pointed to each object in turn as she mentioned them.

“That's great Nene! So where should we go next?” Yuzu asked.

“I don't know.” Nene admitted. “I didn't see anything that looked like it posed a threat.”

“Maybe we should go and see what the ruins that Matsuri mentioned are like.” Himeko suggested. There was a moment of silence, as everyone considered the suggestion.

“For the moment, there's no need for that. Nene can still scout the other direction. We should get a more complete understanding of our surroundings before we commit to anything.” Mei declared.

“Who made you the boss?” Harumin asked.

“I do not mean to be the boss. I'm simply voicing my opinion.” Mei replied.

“Right, sure. You're just voicing your opinion like a command.” Harumin argued.

“I said Nene can scout, and that we should get an understanding. Neither of those are commands. If you'd rather, you can be in charge.” Mei stated calmly.

“Hey! Why are you two fighting over this?” Yuzu asked, standing up and slamming her hands on the table. “We're all friends here! We don't need to fight about who's in charge!”

“I'm not fighting.” Mei replied.

“She's the one who was being bossy.” Harumin complained.

“I don't care! Both of you apologise!” Yuzu demanded. Harumin sighed.

“I'm sorry.” She said. She didn't sound sorry.

“I apologise as well.” Mei said. Yuzu nodded.

“Thank you!” She declared.

 

*****

 

Nene looked between Mei, Yuzu and Harumi confused. Despite arguing, both Harumi and Yuzu were smiling, and Mei looked a little amused.

“Why are you smiling while you're fighting?” Nene asked.

“Because we're not fighting.” Harumi replied. “It's a roleplaying game after all.” She waved a finger in front of her as she said this.

“Oh!” Nene replied, and smiled.

 

*****

 

“Maybe we should decide on a boss.” Himeko suggested. “So we don't fight again?”

“How would we decide the boss?” Harumin asked.

“A vote?” Himeko answered. Harumin scowled for a second.

“I guess.” She agreed. “Do we just...say who we're voting for?”

“Unless you'd rather we write it down?” Mei asked. Harumin thought for a moment, before shaking her head.

“Nah, let's just say who we're voting for.”

“I'm voting for Mei!” Himeko announed.

“I'm voting for Yuzu.” Nene quickly chimed in.

“Oh. I was gonna vote for Mei...” Yuzu admitted, looking sheepish.

“I'm voting for Yuzu too!” Harumin said. Everyone turned to look at Mei.

“I vote for Yuzu.” She said calmly.

“What?” Himeko exclaimed. “Why would you vote for her?”

“She understands what we're here for.” Mei answered calmly. “I think she will make a good leader.”

“Oh, uh, thanks Mei.” Yuzu answered awkwardly. “So, um. I guess Nene should go scout the other side tomorrow. And we can move up to camp outside the ruins after she leaves, so we're ready to go if she doesn't find anything!”

“Okay!” Nene agreed, smiling.

“I suppose that works.” Himeko huffed quietly.

“Good. Now let's all eat, and get some rest!” Yuzu declared.

 

The next morning Nene headed out again. She'd spent an hour the last night studying the map, trying to decide on where to go. There wasn't a conveniently placed mountain on this side, and so she decided instead she'd head to the central mountain, and draw what she could see from whatever open areas she found there. She made her way straight inland, until she reached a river. From there she began following the river, adding it to the map as she went.

Her adventure came to a sharp stop, as she reached a waterfall, which fell down a 100 foot cliff. Nene walked along the base of it, until she found a trail up. It was a rough climb, but after a while she made it to the top, and trudged back to the waterfall. At the top of the waterfall was a small clearing, and enough of a view that Nene could fill in a few more details, so she sat down, and got to work mapping, adding in the cliff she'd followed, and a few notes about elevation to the trail out to the ruins from the village.

Once she'd recorded as much as she could, she packed up and followed the river further up the mountain. It was a steep climb most of the way, but eventually Nene reached a small cave under another waterfall. She set up camp inside there, and waited for the next day to head out again. This time she walked around the mountain, moving up or down as needed to keep going, until by evening she had lost sight of the village around the mountain. She found a large open space on the edge of a cliff, and set up camp again.

The next morning's light revealed just how far she'd come. She could barely make out the ruins if she leaned out from the cliff. The majority of her view was dominated by a massive swamp that lay beyond the ruins. The map didn't seem to represent it from the coastline, but from up here Nene could see it extended out all the way to the coast. A massive tree, towering three times higher than the trees around it lay in the middle of the swamp, and Nene used this to approximate where on the map she should label the swamps. She spent an hour marking the swamp, and the little bit of the rivers she could see that fed it, before packing up her camp again, and starting out towards the ruins to meet up with the others.

 

The trip back took a little while, but by nightfall Nene had arrived at the camp.

“Nene!” Yuzu called as she arrived, and waved. Nene smiled and waved back, as she settled down beside the campfire.

“Hello.” She replied, exhausted.

“Did you find anything interesting?” Mei asked. Harumin glaced over at Mei with a frown. “I'm just asking.”

“A bit!” Nene answered. She reached into her bag, and rolled out the map. “There's a big swamp over there, with a big tree in the middle of it.” Nene explained, pointing in the direction of the swamp. From here the tree wasn't in vision, which was a bit of a problem. “And there's a river that leads up into the mountain, though I didn't follow it all the way.”

“Great work! Thanks Nene!” Yuzu replied. “So, it didn't look like there was anything that'll threaten the village?”

“I don't think so.” Nene answered.

“All right! Harumin, did you find anything inside the ruins?” Yuzu asked, turning to Harumin. Harumin shook her head.

“Nothing interesting in the first few rooms. Once I heard bones creaking I backed out though.” She answered.

 

*****

 

“Why didn't we have this conversation earlier?” Himeko asked.

“Because it's easier playing it out like this.” Matsuri answered. “Anyway, are you all done for the night?”

“I think so.” Yuzu said, looking around at the party. Nene nodded.

“I'd be too tired to keep going.” She said. Harumi, Himeko and Mei all nodded as well.

“How are we sleeping in camp anyway?” Mei asked.

“You have a big tent, and a bunch of sleeping bags.” Matsuri answered. She smirked as she looked between Yuzu and Mei. “So, you all sleep the night, and wake up the next morning ready for adventure. Are you heading in?”

“Yeah!” Yuzu declared.

 

*****

 

“I suppose we'll use the same line as last time?” Yuzu asked.

“It would likely be our best choice.” Mei agreed.

“Could you stop backseat leading?” Harumin huffed.

“I'm simply giving her my opinion.” Mei argued.

“It's not Mei's fault Yuzu isn't fit to lead.” Himeko said. Mei shot her a cold glance, and Himeko visibly shrunk. “I mean...is looking for input.” She corrected herself quickly. Harumin snickered.

“Enough fighting!” Yuzu announced. “Mei, apologise to Himeko, she's allowed to think I'm not good enough for the job.” Mei sighed.

“I'm sorry.” She said.

“It's okay.” Himeko replied, smiling.

“Good. So, I'll lead, Mei will be behind me, Harumin in the middle, then Himeko and Nene.” Yuzu said. “Any questions or objections?” Everyone shook their heads. “All right! Let's go!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this one ran a bit short, and I'm sorry. I had a HOLIDAY to go on, which ate up about 10 days of my possible working time, so most of this chapter was buffer work I'd done before releasing the last chapter. I was going to power through to add some more today, but honestly where things ended was actually a really good point to stop, so I did. Next month expect a somewhat longer chapter as the girls plow into the dungeon, and the session comes to a close. Also, I've decided after the first day I'm going to ease up on the perspective swapping, and focus on giving Yuzu 2-3 chapters per day, with only 1-2 being perspective swapped as the situation requires. The next chapter however is going to be a Mei chapter because how could I not write a little bit of private gay between each session?


	5. Ruined Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party finishes up the session with a quick dive into some ruins.

The inside of the ruin was cold. Cold enough that Mei's breath came out as small clouds, which swirled for a moment, before fading into the air. In front of her, Yuzu was visibly shivering. Mei was quite cold too. Her robe was quite thin, a fact she'd be grateful for outside in the humid jungle air. But here where it was cold and damp, she wished she had something thicker. The cold wasn't helped by the distant sound of water dripping into pools, as it echoed through the ruins. The only other sound was the gentle crackling of the torches in Mei and Himeko's hands. Mei glared at the torch. It's crackling was infuriating, as it taunted her with an empty promise of warmth.

“Stop.” Yuzu whispered. “I think I hear something.” Mei pushed her thoughts aside, and focused. Now that Yuzu had mentioned it, she could hear a gentle creaking coming from the room ahead of them. Harumin stepped past Mei, and stopped beside Yuzu.

“This is as far as I scouted.” She reported. Yuzu nodded.

“All right. Let's get this done nice and quick!” She declared. Her voice echoed around the walls. It was met by a group of sharp, sudden creaks.

“Idiot.” Mei muttered. Despite her admonishment, she couldn't help but smile inside. That was just like Yuzu.

“Sorry!” Yuzu whispered. It was too late, as a set of skeletons came charging into the light, and down the hallway ahead of them. “We gotta jet!” Yuzu called. The line turned, and ran back down the hallway. It was a short run until they made their way out into the previous room. There they fanned out. Mei ran to the side, and turned to watch Yuzu. Yuzu stopped a step or two inside the door. Just far enough back to let the others see the skeletons, but not so far as to let them charge past her.

 

*****

 

“Okay, so now we're rolling initiative.” Matsuri announced. Mei looked at the battle map with some degree of pride. Even though this morning Yuzu hadn't understood any of the mechanics, she was now making the best decision for the moment.

“What do we roll?” Yuzu asked. Mei sighed. She couldn't win them all.

“A d20, add your dexterity.” Mei told her, as she rolled her own initiative. The dice came up 17. “I got 20.” Mei announced, mentally adding her dexterity modifier of +3.

“8.” Yuzu groaned.

“13.” Harumi announced.

“6.” Himeko grumbled.

“I got a 13!” Nene called across the table. Mei looked over at her. She still wasn't too sure what to make of her. They'd never interacted socially before, and the few interactions they had had were rather one-sided. It made speaking with her a somewhat strange experience.

“Alright, Mei, you go first.”

“I hold my turn.” Mei answered instantly. Yuzu laughed softly. “Yes?” Mei asked her.

“Harumin, your turn.” Matsuri announced. Mei didn't pay attention to Harumi's turn.

“Just, how quick you were.” Yuzu replied with a smile.

“I see.” Mei returned her attention to Harumi's turn. She was just drawing daggers and moving into a position to throw daggers from.

 

*****

 

The skeletons burst into the room. Three of them came to an abrupt halt in front of Yuzu, and began swinging their sabres at her. One of them bounced off the haft of her axe, but the other two bit into her, and she cried out in pain. A fourth and fifth skeleton stood behind them in the hallway, unable to fit out without forcing their friends into a dangerous position.

Yuzu bellowed at them, and swung back. Her axe smashed into the skeleton's side, and a rib was turned to dust under the force of the blow. Mei took a half step forward, and cast Plea on Yuzu. One of her wounds glowed, and sealed itself closed.

“Thanks Mei!” Yuzu called over her shoulder.

“Look out!” Himeko shouted, cutting off any chance Mei had to respond. A fireball flew over Yuzu's shoulder, through the ranks of skeletons, and exploded behind them. The fire billowed out of the hallway, and engulfed the skeletons, before coming to an abrupt stop just in front of Yuzu.

 

*****

 

“Um. I think we forgot my turn.” Nene said softly.

“Huh? What did you get?” Matsuri asked.

“A 13.”

“Oh, shoot. Take your turn now.” Matusri said. Nene nodded quickly.

“Okay. Um, I'm going to shoot the skeleton Yuzu-Senpai hit.” She said. She rolled her dice, and took a moment to check her sheet before announcing. “14!”

“That's barely a hit.” Matsuri replied with a nod.

“12 damage!” Nene followed up.

“Huh? How did you do so much damage?” Yuzu asked. “I thought you only rolled a d8.”

“She took Favored Enemy against Undead last level.” Mei answered. “You should pay more attention to how your friends are building their characters.”

“How am I supposed to know that?” Yuzu protested.

“She talked about it when we were levelling up.” Himeko added. Mei nodded.

“I wasn't here for that!” Yuzu continued to complain.

“You could have asked. Everyone else here knows what you can do.” Mei continued. She felt a little bad to pick on Yuzu like this, but it was important that their friends didn't catch on to the nature of their relationship, and teasing her like this helped. It was also, if Mei was being honest with herself, somewhat amusing to watch Yuzu protest. A small revenge for the times she'd scolded Mei for similar inattentiveness.

“Mei-San. Stop picking on Yuzu-Chan and take your turn.” Matsuri asked. Mei nodded.

“Yuzu. How much HP do you have missing?” She asked.

“15.” Yuzu replied. Mei bit her lip, thinking for a moment. She was on full mana right now. Casting Plea meant that her mana regeneration brought her up more than she lost. But it could only heal 8 points.

“I'll cast Heal on Yuzu.” Mei declared, picking up her dice. “You heal for 15.” Yuzu smiled.

“Thanks Mei!” She said. Mei looked away.

“You don't have to thank me. I'm just doing my job. If you go down then we'll all be in trouble.” She said quickly. In truth, she just found dealing with Yuzu's sincerity difficult.

“Taniguchi-Senpai, it's your turn.” Matsuri announced.

“Huh?” Harumi asked, looking up from her phone.

“It's your turn Harumin!” Yuzu told her.

“All right, all right, geez. Sorry.” Harumi said. She leaned forward to look at battlefield. She pointed at the skeleton closest to her. “I'm going to throw both daggers at this one.” She declared. She grabbed her dice, and rolled them.

“Natural Twenty!” She declared. “And then a 14.”

“That one hits too.” Matsuri grumbled. Harumi picked up her handful of dice and rolled them. Mei thought it was absurd how many dice she rolled. Though it was still a bit more reasonable than Yuzu's damage at least.

“7 damage from the daggers.” Harumi announced. “And 9 from sneak attack.” Matsuri nodded, and made a note.

“So this one has taken 38 damage.” Nene said, pointing to the skeleton in front of Yuzu. “And this one has taken 21 damage. Right?”

“That's right.” Mei told her. Nene nodded.

“I'll shoot the one that's most damaged then.” She said. “10 damage!” Mei glanced over. The d20 in front of Nene read 15. Since she'd hit on a 14 before, it was a safe assumption she hit again.

 

*****

 

The skeleton in front of Yuzu collapsed suddenly, as Nene's arrow slammed into it's neck, and dislodged a bone. The bone being knocked free caused a chain reaction, and the skeleton fell apart. It's teeth chattered loudly the whole way down.

 

*****

 

Himeko huffed softly beside Mei. She'd mentioned being happy the undead enemies couldn't scream. It seemed that Matsuri was still finding a way to make them die in a noisy way. The look on Matsuri's face confirmed she knew exactly what she was doing.

 

*****

 

The two skeletons advanced around Yuzu, continuing to swing at her as they did so. One of them stuck it's sabre in Yuzu's shoulder. The other pair stormed in and swung at Yuzu, but they somehow all managed to miss her. Mei took a second to assess the wound. It wasn't particularly deep. Yuzu would be okay.

Yuzu shouted in response, and swung at one of the newest skeletons. It moved to get out of the way, but was barely not quick enough. Yuzu's axe connected with it's arm, and it turned to dust.

Himeko grinned. She took a few steps forward, and threw her hands forward.

 

*****

 

“You don't have enough mana for that spell.” Matsuri remarked.

“What?” Himeko asked. She looked down at her sheet. “Oh.” Mei leaned over to look at her sheet. Himeko was planning to cast Dragon's Breath. Glancing over at the spell list, it cost 57 mana. Himeko only had 51 mana.

“Didn't you get a mana cost reduction?” Mei asked.

“Huh? Oh, yeah I did!” Himeko declared. She studied the sheet for a moment before grinning. “It costs 51 mana!”

“Oh, all right.” Matsuri said.

 

*****

 

A huge plume of flames burst from Himeko's hands, engulfing Yuzu, and the skeletons around her. It burnt for a moment, before vanishing. The skeletons looked very charred, and the two that had already been hit collapsed. Yuzu however, was completely unscathed, though very startled.

“Could you warn me next time?” She shouted at Himeko.

“If you didn't want to be covered in fire, you shouldn't have decided to fight so close!” Himeko replied smugly. Mei looked between the two of them and sighed. She cast Plea on Yuzu again, and the wound patched itself up. It wasn't fully healed, but there wasn't any blood. It just looked like a nasty scar for the moment.

Harumin drew two more daggers, and with a yell charged the nearest skeleton. She jammed her dagger into it's spine. The skeleton slowly turned to look at her, and Harumin gave it a sheepish grin in response. An arrow flew behind it's skull, and clattered against the wall behind it, followed by a soft, “Sorry” from Nene. Mei sighed.

The skeletons struck again. One swung at Yuzu, while the other attacked Harumin. Amazingly, they both missed. Yuzu swung her axe in return. She also missed.

 

*****

 

“I don't have any mana.” Himeko declared. “So I guess I'll draw my wand and shoot at one.” She picked up her dice and rolled. The dice came up 19.

“Oh my god, someone finally hit!” Harumi cheered. Himeko rolled her dice, before giving Matsuri a serious look.

“I deal 3 damage.” She said. Harumi burst out laughing.

“That's all?” She asked. Beside her, Yuzu started to laugh too.

“Wands don't do much damage!” Himeko protested.

“I'd like to hold my turn.” Mei cut off the conversation, before it could get any worse.

“Taniguchi-Senpai.” Matsuri called.

“I'll stab it twice.” Harumi declared. She rolled twice, scowling at the second dice that came up a 2. She rolled her damage for the other attack and sighed. “5 damage again.”

“I'll take a shot at it.” Nene said, before Matsuri could call on her, or she could be forgotten. “19! And 6 damage!”

 

*****

 

Nene's next arrow thudded into the skeleton's skull, and it collapsed into a useless pile of bones. The last skeleton swung at Yuzu, who ducked backwards. She took a half step forward as it recovered, and swung her axe down at it's head. The axe smashed into the skeleton's skull, and it crumbled into pieces. The rest of the skeleton followed it down to the ground.

“We did it!” Yuzu declared. Mei took a few steps forward, and crouched down to inspect the nearest skeleton. Now that they'd settled down, she could see that it had been overgrown with moss and even some roots had started to grow into it. She picked up the sabre and inspected it. She didn't know enough about swords to know what exactly she was looking at.

“Hey!” Harumin said, walking over to her. “I know that sword.”

“You do?” Mei asked, looking up at her. Harumin nodded, and took the sword from her.

“Yeah, it's a cutlass.” She replied, inspecting it. “Looks like it belongs to the Red Flag Pirates.”

 

*****

 

“Why would she know that? It makes no sense for her backstory!” Himeko asked. Harumi gave her a smug smile.

“I can't help what the dice decide I know. Besides, I probably heard rumours about them somewhere.” She answered.

 

*****

 

“Interesting. I wonder what it's doing here.” Mei wondered aloud. Harumin shrugged.

“Beats me. There's plenty of Red Flag crews that have vanished though. Maybe one found this place and didn't make it out alive.”

“Then where's their ship?” Mei asked.

“There's lots of island it could be hiding on!” Nene suggested. “Maybe these ones were a scouting party that got lost.”

“Then how did they end up undead?” Himeko demanded.

“We'll just have to work it out!” Yuzu interrupted the argument. She stood by the door, hands on her hips with a massive grin on her face. She threw one hand up, and made a peace sign around her left eye. “But for now, let's get going with clearing this place out! We've got a town to save!”

 

*****

 

“You advance into the next room. It's a boring, empty room like the one before it. The hallway leading on is a bit bigger though. As you move on to the next room, you can see sunlight pouring into the room, and a large tree in the middle. You walk out onto a balcony, overlooking a small garden. There's stairs to either side of you.” Matsuri explained.

“We're going down!” Yuzu declared. She paused, and looked around. “Right?”

“Perhaps you and Harumi should go down alone.” Mei suggested.

“Harumin.” Harumi corrected her.

“You and Harumin.” Mei repeated.

“Why?” Yuzu asked.

“In case of danger. The three of us can support you from up here.” Mei explained. Yuzu thought for a moment, before nodding.

“Okay! Harumin and I are going to go down.” She announced, glancing at Harumi for confirmation. Harumi nodded.

“Alright, Yuzu and Harumin make their way downstairs. As you approach the tree, something in the grass moves. A skeleton wearing a big pirate hat and an eyepatch climbs to it's feet with a cutlass in hand!” Matsuri described, a big grin on her face. “Roll initiative.”

“14!” Harumi declared almost instantly.

“8.” Mei announced with a soft sigh. It was to be expected.

“6.” Nene groaned.

“21!” Himeko crowed. She sounded very proud of herself. After going last for so many encounters. Mei wasn't too surprised.

“19.” Yuzu said finally. Matsuri nodded, scribbling everything down.

“All right! Himeko, you go first.” She said.

“Am I at full mana?” Himeko asked. Matsuri thought for a moment, before sighing and shrugging.

“I guess so. Yuzu will tell me off for picking on you if I say no Eyebrow-Chan.” Himeko scowled.

“In that case, I'll cast Firebolt on it.” Himeko declared. She sighed. “I got a 9.”

“You miss! Yuzu, your turn.”

“I'm going to rage, and charge it!” Yuzu declared.

“Hey Yuzu, why didn't you rage last fight?” Harumi asked. Yuzu paused.

“I was saving it for the boss fight!” She replied.

“You have several rages per day.” Mei said. Yuzu paused, before groaning.

“I forgot!” She whined. Mei sighed. That was just like her.

“Yuzu, roll your attack.” Matsuri said.

“Oh, right.” Yuzu replied.

 

*****

 

Yuzu charged at the skeleton that had emerged from the grass with a loud scream. She stopped just short of it and swung her axe. It hit nothing but air, and slammed into the ground beside the pirate. Himeko snorted.

Harumin charged at it as well. She jumped forward, and slammed her dagger into the side of it's neck. The dagger stuck in it's spine for a second, before Harumin managed to rip it free. The skeleton swung at Harumin in response, but missed. It's swing carried on towards Yuzu, and this time it hit. She cried out in pain as the blade cut her cheek, and Mei could see blood fly from the wound.

She jumped into action, casting Heal as quickly as she could. She could feel how weak the spell was. But despite it, Yuzu still managed to call over her shoulder.

“Thanks Mei!”

 

*****

 

“What are you on now?” Mei asked. Yuzu looked down at her sheet.

“49. So I'm still 8 points down.” She replied. Mei nodded. She'd only rolled a 4 on her two dice. She got the feeling this was going to be a long fight, and she didn't want to burn all her mana just yet.

“Alright. I'm done.”

 

*****

 

Nene fired off an arrow, which hit the skeleton in the hip. It staggered for a half second, before righting itself. Himeko immediately began casting a second firebolt. This time it hit, and exploded into a small plume of fire. Yuzu took another swing at the pirate, and missed again. Harumin took two stabs at it, one of which hit. A small piece of bone chipped off the skeleton as she stabbed it. So far it seemed as if things weren't going too well.

The pirate didn't have much luck either, as it swung at Harumin and Yuzu, missing them both. Mei took the chance to throw out a quick Plea, instead of a more intense healing spell. Nene fired again, and missed.

 

*****

 

“This is so boring!” Yuzu whined. “We're all missing!”

“Don't complain, Mei got to heal you again.” Matsuri told her.

“But still!” Yuzu continued.

“I got another 12.” Himeko cut her off. “And I dealt 14 damage.”

“Himeko's hitting.” Matsuri remarked. “Now take your turn Yuzu.” Yuzu huffed, and picked up her dice.

“An 11!” She squealed in excitement. “That means I got...6...7...9...20!”

“That's a hit.” Matsuri answered. Yuzu grinned, and grabbed her damage dice.

“7.” She read aloud, deflating instantly. “So...19.”

“You're complaining about 19 damage?” Himeko scoffed at her. Yuzu looked up. For a second she seemed like she was going to mope more. Instead, she slapped her cheeks, and nodded.

“You're right! That's great!” She declared.

“Is it dead yet?” Mei asked. She'd been keeping track of the HP. It had taken 55 damage now, which was enough to down the last skeletons. Matsuri shook her head.

“It doesn't even look close.” She answered.

“I'm going to stab it again.” Harumi announced. “...1 and 6.” She read the dice she rolled, before putting her head down on the table. Yuzu patted her back.

“There there, you got a crit the first time!” She said.

“The pirate swings at you both again! It only hits Yuzu though. It deals 19 damage!” Matsuri announced. “Mei-San.”

“I'll cast Heal on Yuzu again.” Mei replied. “She heals for 10 damage. Then I'll cast plea, so she heals another 7.”

“Mei...” Yuzu said softly. Mei looked across the table at her. Yuzu was staring at her with an overwhelmed expression. Mei had seen it plenty of times before. It still made her feel strange.

 

*****

 

Another of Nene's arrows hit the skeleton. This one hardly seemed to register to him. Himeko summoned another fire bolt, and hurled it at him. This one hit it's hat, knocking it clean off. The flames scorched around his face, and it seemed to actually do some damage to the skeleton for once.

Yuzu swung at the skeleton with a loud shout. Her axe landed square on it's head, splintering the bone. Harumin took the opportunity to dart in behind it, and jam a dagger into it's back. That seemed to be the tipping point, as Yuzu's blow suddenly found some traction, and the axe began cleaving through the skeleton, crumbling the whole thing to dust.

 

*****

 

“Sorry, it was meant to die to Yuzu's attack.” Matsuri announced sheepishly.

“Geez, you don't have to say something to make me feel useless.” Harumi complained.

“Anyway, let's call it there? We'll do your experience and treasure in the morning.” Matsuri suggested.

“Huh? Why?” Yuzu asked. Mei looked at her.

“It's getting late Yuzu. We should let everyone go home.” She said.

“Is it?” Yuzu asked. She looked out the window and gasped. Mei sighed. The sun had set an hour ago. “Oh. Sorry everyone! I didn't realize it was so late!”

“It's okay, I wanted to know what else was in there too.” Harumi said.

“Yeah.” Nene agreed.

“So, who wants to stop for food on the way home?” Matsuri asked as she stood up.

“I guess I'll go with you. Stop you from getting into trouble.” Harumi said, eyeing her suspiciously.

“I'll come too.” Nene said. The group got up from the table, and Mei escorted them to the door.

“Thank you very much for coming over.” She said as she let them down.

“Any time Mei-San.” Matsuri said, waving over her shoulder.

“It was fun.” Harumi remarked, as she and Nene walked out.

“Thank you for having us Mei-Mei.” Himeko said quietly, before slipping out herself. Once the last of them was out, Mei sighed, and headed back to the living room. Yuzu had gotten into the fridge while she was gone.

“What do you want for dinner?” She asked.

 

Ume got home before dinner was finished, and the three of them ate together. She was curious about what they'd been up to that day, and so Yuzu started telling the story of their adventures. Mei spent the time looking at her food, or out the window. The game was fun, but it wasn't something Mei would do on her own. She only played because Yuzu wanted to. As such, hearing herself mentioned in the stories was somewhat embarrassing. When Yuzu had mentioned it, Mei had expected it to only last a day or two before Yuzu got bored, but the enthusiasm with which she told the story suggested she wasn't going to be bored anytime soon.

“Well, it certainly sounds like you had fun.” Ume replied. “I hope you can solve the mystery of where the pirates came from.” Yuzu nodded.

“Thanks Mama!” She replied. The story had taken long enough that they'd all finished, and so Yuzu went to clear the table while Mei went and had a bath. By the time she'd finished, the dishes were all cleaned up, and Yuzu was lying on their bed, staring at her character sheet. Mei sighed.

“You should get some study done.” She said.

“But Mei!” Yuzu protested. “How can I focus when I'm thinking about the game?” Mei walked over to the desk and sat down at it.

“I can focus on doing paperwork while thinking about the game.” She replied. Yuzu sighed.

“All right! I'll get some study done! Then I can think about my next level right?” She asked. Mei paused. She likely wasn't going to get anything better out of Yuzu, so she nodded.

“Yes.” She said simply.

“Okay!” Yuzu sat up, and after fussing about the room for a minute, she settled in to study. The two of them sat in a comfortable silence for an hour, Yuzu studying, and Mei clearing out some of the paperwork she had to do for the student council. Eventually however, Yuzu groaned, and fell onto her back. Mei looked over at her.

“Are you done?” She asked. Yuzu nodded.

“I think so.” She replied. Mei looked over at the pile of work in front of her. It seemed like she'd done enough. And she technically didn't need to study all that much. She hadn't failed because of not studying hard enough. She'd simply missed a test. And Mei was starting to get tired herself. There wouldn't be any sense pushing her harder.

“All right.” Mei said, and put her own pen down. “I suppose you can rest.”

“Thanks Mei!” Yuzu jumped onto the bed, and lay down. “Did you have fun today?”

“It was an acceptable way to pass the time.” Mei replied diplomatically. Yuzu laughed.

“Thanks for playing with us.”

“You don't have to thank me.”

“I do. You're only playing for me after all.” Mei smiled a little and shook her head. Yuzu was getting uncomfortably good on picking up on these things.

“Don't be ridiculous. I'm only playing because I'm curious about these sorts of games.” Mei answered. She turned, and climbed out of the chair. Yuzu was smirking at her.

“Well. Thanks anyway.” She said simply. Mei walked over and sat on the bed beside her.

“Would you like to plan your next level?” She asked. Yuzu thought for a moment, before shaking her head.

“I'll do it with everyone else.” She said. Mei nodded.

“All right.”

“Hey Mei.” Yuzu asked suddenly.

“Yes?”

“Where do you think the pirates came from?” Yuzu asked. Mei yawned.

“A ship.” She replied calmly. She leaned over, and kissed Yuzu quickly. “We should get some sleep. You can find the ship in the morning.” Yuzu blushed, and nodded.

“Okay.” She said flatly. Mei turned the light off, and climbed into bed. She could feel the blankets shifting as Yuzu climbed into bed beside her. “Thanks.” Yuzu said one more time.

“You don't have to thank me.” Mei said, before passing out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! We're at the end of the session!
> 
> Funny thing, like, a week after posting the first chapter, I changed a massive rule in the game which re-balanced everything. It also completely ruined the first chapter. So I've been sitting on it until the end of the first session, so NEXT chapter can begin with Matsuri realizing there's been a mistake, and everything being updated.
> 
> As always, comments are appreciated, kudos is nice and all, but it doesn't actually tell me what people like or hate about it. Or don't, kudos still makes me smile everytime I get the email.


	6. Adventure Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a successful first session, the party gets stuck in again, preparing for their future on the island, and their next adventure!

Yuzu woke up the next morning to find Mei lying on her. She smiled. Mei was always cute when she slept. She looked over at the clock. They still had half an hour until Matsuri was supposed to be arriving. They could afford another few minutes in bed. She wrapped an arm around Mei, and closed her eyes, drifting back off to sleep.

“Yuzu! Matsuri's here!” Ume's voice carried into the room, jolting Yuzu awake. Mei had already gotten out of bed, and was pulling her clothes up.

“You finally woke up.” She said. There was the faintest hint of warmth in her voice. Yuzu smiled at her.

“You're one to talk sleepy head. I would've gotten up sooner if you weren't sleeping on me.” She teased back.

“Sorry. You could have pushed me off you.” Mei replied. Yuzu shook her head as she climbed out of bed.

“You were far too cute.” Yuzu said. She walked over to Mei, and stole a quick kiss. “Alright, I'm going to go help Matsuri get set up!”

“Dressed like that?” Mei asked. Yuzu nodded.

“Matsuri's seen me in my pajamas before. I'll get changed before anyone else arrives!” She replied. Mei hesitated for a second, before nodding.

“I suppose.” She said. Yuzu smiled at her, before slipping out. Matsuri was already at the dining room table, laying out her papers.

“Morning!” Yuzu called. Matsuri looked over at her and smirked.

“Morning. Did you forget to get dressed?” She teased.

“I slept in. I didn't want you to have to get set up without me.” Yuzu explained.

“Honestly, I don't know what to do with you.” Ume called from the kitchen. “You knew you had guests coming, and you still sleep in.” Yuzu huffed. She couldn't very well explain herself. The door behind her creaked open, and Mei came walking out.

“I can help set up.” She said. “Yuzu can go get dressed.”

“That's very sweet of you Mei.” Ume said.

“Yeah, thanks Mei-San.” Matsuri added. She didn't sound particularly grateful. Either way, Yuzu slipped back into their room, and started to get changed. She took her time to actually look nice, before coming back out. By the time she was out, Nene and Harumin had already arrived, and Matsuri was all set up and ready to go. There was a knock at the door, and Mei walked over to get it.

“Hey Harumin!” Yuzu called as she walked over and sat down beside her.

“Hey Yuzucchi.” She replied with a smile.

“Who's excited to find those pirates?” Yuzu asked.

“Hell yeah!” Harumin said.

“I'm more excited to explore the other ruins.” Nene replied. “I think we'll find some cool stuff there.”

“Oh yeah! Good point!” Yuzu exclaimed. Mei returned to the table, with a very out of breath Himeko behind her.

“Geez, what's up VP? Did you run here or something?” Harumin asked. Himeko took a deep breath and huffed.

“So what if I did?” She asked.

“Wait, you seriously did? Why?” Harumin asked. The conversation was interrupted by Ume calling out.

“I'm off to work! You girls be good!” She called, before heading down the hallway. Matsuri smirked.

“I think Eyebrow-Chan didn't want to run head first into Ume again.” She said.

“That...may have been a concern. It's impolite to arrive as someone leaves.” Himeko insisted.

“Are we ready to begin?” Mei asked. Matsuri nodded.

“Kind of. I worked out experience, and you've got enough to level up. So we'll do that, give out the loot, and then we can start.” She explained. Mei nodded.

“Okay.”

 

They spent about thirty minutes updating characters and getting loot distributed. Yuzu made certain to pay attention to what everyone got this level. Harumin picked the Vital Strike feat, which let her add her Dexterity modifier to her damage while in melee. Nene picked up Vital Shot, which did the same but for ranged attacks. Both Mei and Himeko picked up Spell Focus feats, which increased their healing and damage numbers respectively.

Yuzu meanwhile picked up her second level of Berserker. It let her add her Constitution modifier to her AC, which more than made up for the loss of her Breastplate. She also picked up Weapon Focus for Greatswords. She'd never use them, but it let her take Titanic Strength, making her axe able to be wielded one handed. If she wanted, she could dual wield axes now. She wouldn't, because she knew how huge the penalties were without feats for it.

“Alright, magic items. So far Yuzu has a +1 Greataxe, and +1 Hide Armour, from the Orc boss and the spider cave respectively.” Matsuri started. “Nene has a +1 Longbow.”

“I do?” Nene asked. Matsuri sighed.

“Yeah, you looted it from the spiders, remember?”

“Oh! I didn't realise I got that.” Nene replied.

“So! In the cave, with the skeleton defeated, you all find his magical cutlass and his magical hat on his body, as well as a magical necklace and circlet on the ground further back. There's a chest filled with gold and silver decorations, but you don't know how much they'll be worth until you take them back with you.” Matsuri announced.

“Do we know what any of them do?” Himeko asked.

“You can make a spellcraft check to find out.” Matsuri replied. Himeko sighed, and picked up her dice.

“I got...29, 13, 26 and 25.” Himeko recited off after all her dice were rolled.

“Okay, the Cutlass is a cursed +2 Shadow Cutlass, that leaves a scar on everyone it cuts. It's not a curse for the user though. You can't work out the hat, but the necklace enables it's wearer to re-roll the dice on all healing spells they cast. But you have to keep the new results. And lastly the circlet lets you store a spell in it, so that when you cast that spell, you automatically cast a second copy of it.” Matsuri explained.

“Mei-Mei, would you like the necklace?” Himeko asked. She glanced over at Yuzu. Yuzu smiled back at her.

“Yes please. I don't imagine it would be much use to anyone else.” Mei answered calmly. She looked down, and started writing on her sheet.

“And can I have the circlet?” Himeko looked to the group.

“I think it'll be better on you than Mei.” Yuzu answered. “Mei never needs to try that hard to heal me.”

“And that just leaves the sword...” Himeko mused.

“Can I have it?” Harumin asked.

“I didn't think you used swords.” Yuzu said.

“I don't, but it's sounds really cool.” Harumin replied. “And maybe I can get a cute dread pirate Harumin look going.” Yuzu laughed.

“Alright, Harumin gets the sword. And we'll hold onto the hat in case it's cursed.” She announced.

“Great, are you all ready to continue?” Matsuri asked. Everyone nodded.

 

*****

 

Yuzu rubbed her cheek. Despite being healed, the cut was still sore.

“Let me see it.” Mei insisted. Yuzu pulled her arm away and sat there as Mei stared at her cheek intently. She was really cute when she was showing concern like that. “Hm. It won't heal. I think you're going to have a scar.”

“That's alright.” Yuzu answered with a grin. “Scars look cool.” Mei smiled at her slightly.

“You would think that.” She stepped back, and looked around. “Are we all done playing around?” Yuzu followed her gaze to see Harumin, wearing the dead pirates hat and swinging his cutlass around.

“Harumin! That might've been cursed!” Yuzu shouted.

“Yeah, but...” Harumin protested.

“No buts! Take it off!” Yuzu insisted. Harumin sighed, and took the hat off.

“Geez Yuzucchi, when'd you get so crabby?” She complained. Yuzu opened her mouth to respond. Harumin was right. She probably was over-reacting here.

“I'm just trying to protect you.” She said finally.

“Well, we know it's not cursed at least.” Himeko remarked.

“We do?” Yuzu asked. Himeko nodded.

“You can't remove cursed items.” She replied.

“Ha!” Harumin crowed, putting the hat back on. “The dread pirate Harumin wins again!”

“Well then dread pirate Harumin, you can help carry the pirate treasure back to base.” Yuzu teased.

“What? But I'm a captain!” Harumin protested.

“So am I, and I'm carrying it too.” Yuzu replied. Harumin sighed. The two of them picked up the chest, and they started to make their way out of the ruins.

 

The trip back to the village took the rest of the day. When they arrived in the evening, Harumin and Yuzu collapsed into the chairs of the inn, exhausted. The treasure had been really heavy. Over the day they'd off-loaded more and more to the others, but they still had the majority of it between them.

“Welcome back! I take it things went well?” Matsuri asked as she came over with drinks for all of them.

“It went very well thank you.” Mei replied. “The undead won't be a problem for you.”

“Thank you. Do you need dinner?”

“Please.” Mei answered. Yuzu would've spoken up, but she was just too tired right now to deal with anything. The group sat in silence for a few minutes. Finally, Yuzu regained her breath enough to lean forward and look at the group.

“So! We should work out what our next priority is.” She declared. “Nene, can you show us the map again?”

“Okay.” Nene replied, pulling out her map and rolling it onto the table. “We've got the pillars on this side, with another ruins over there. Or we can go and check out the wetlands further out from the ruins we cleared today.” Yuzu nodded.

“Well, I'm really interested to find leads about the pirates.” She said. “So let's consider going to the ruins after we've rested up?” Mei cleared her throat.

“This is a job that was expected to take a year.” She said. “And I'm sure no one would complain if we took longer than that. So perhaps we should consider setting up more serious base camps before we travel too far. I for one don't want to have to spend a week camping every night before we reach our destination.”

“That's a good idea.” Yuzu agreed.

“As you'd expect from Mei-Mei.” Himeko added.

“I'm just trying to spend our time efficiently.” Mei answered. “A proper base camp also provides us a place to store treasure, so we don't have to return to town every time we're done loot a treasure chest.”

“Alright, hey Matsuri!” Yuzu called. Matsuri came walking back over to them?

“Yes?” She asked.

“Is there anyone here who could help us build a small cabin or something out in the jungle?” Yuzu asked.

“Why would you want to do that?” Matsuri replied with an amused grin.

“We want to set up an outpost so we don't have to come back here every time we're done with looting something.” Yuzu explained. Matsuri paused, and nodded.

“I guess someone might be willing to do it. Should I ask around for you?” She asked.

“Yes please!” Yuzu replied. Matsuri nodded, and walked off. Yuzu looked over at Nene. “Where do you think we should build our first outpost?” Nene's hand jumped to a spot on the map. Yuzu looked down. It was the mountain Nene had said she camped on the first time she went exploring.

“There. It's nice and peaceful, and offers a good view of the area. Plus we'll never lose it.” Nene answered.

“Alright, sounds like a plan!” Yuzu declared.

 

*****

 

“So, it'll take a week to get a small cabin made out there.” Matsuri said. “It'll cost you...250 gold, which is about how much you'd get for the chest of loot.”

“Are we okay with spending that much money on something for comfort?” Himeko asked. She was looking over at Mei.

“It's Yuzu's call to make.” She replied calmly. Yuzu smiled.

“Thanks Mei. Is there anything else we could spend that money on?” Yuzu asked.

“There's an Alchemist in town you can buy potions from. But there's no Artificer or anything.” Matsuri answered.

“Um. What's an Artificer?” Nene asked.

“They make magic items.” Himeko answered. Matsuri nodded.

“Eyebrow-Chan has it right.” She replied.

“Oh, okay.” Nene said. Yuzu thought for a minute.

“I think it's okay, let's do it.” She declared.

“Alright, are you doing anything for the week while it builds?” Matsuri asked.

“We should head out to explore a few days before it's finished.” Mei suggested. “That way it will be ready when we decide to turn around.”

“Good thinking Mei. Let's do that.” Yuzu agreed.

 

*****

 

The group headed out early on the fourth day of building. It'd take them a day to reach the cabin and check on progress. From there they planned to head north and investigate the pillars. They could camp a night out among the pillars, before returning to the cabin and checking it out. The trip out was uneventful, and surprisingly painless. Nene lead the way, and they had a much easier time getting through as a result. They arrived to find a mostly finished cabin, with a bunch of furniture waiting under a nearby tent for it to be finished. They camped out beside the cabin for the night. In the morning they took a moment to survey the landscape.

“Wow, that's gorgeous.” Yuzu said. The jungle extended out before them, interrupted only by the stone pillars that shot out from the trees. The mountain turned away from them, cutting off their view further around the island, but it provided them with a good view of the ruins Nene had mentioned.

“This is going to be painful.” Harumin whined. “That's so far away! Did this cabin even help?”

“Maybe we'll find something along the way and we can build another one.” Nene suggested.

“I wouldn't hold out hope.” Mei said. “We should get going, so we don't waste the day.”

“Oh, uh, yeah, we should.” Yuzu agreed. They packed up their camp and set out. The journey today was much slower, as they had to wade through uncharted jungle. The mountain, the pillars, and the hill they had their cabin on all provided points of reference however, and within the first hour they'd reached the first pillar. Above them, a steep, but still distinct, trail had been worn by something.

“Do you think we can climb these?” Yuzu asked.

“Do we want to?” Mei replied. Yuzu bit her lip, thinking.

“Maybe. If we could build bridges or something between them we could save a bunch of time.” She suggested.

“How would we build a bridge?” Himeko asked. “That's wildly impractical. As I'd expect of you.” Yuzu scowled. She wanted to retort, but she couldn't actually think of how they'd build a bridge long enough.

“Fine. We won't climb it!” She declared. “Let's keep going!” She started walking deeper into the maze of pillars. The others followed behind her a little reluctantly.

The jungle wasn't so hard to traverse here. The trees were massive, stretching well above them, but that meant the vegetation at their level was sparse and low. It was surprisingly easy to navigate through them. It was also very quiet. As they walked, Nene jogged up next to Yuzu.

“Um, we should consider slowing down.” She said softly.

“Huh? Why?” Yuzu replied.

“Because, it's very quiet. And that means there's probably something big and dangerous around.” Nene answered. Yuzu stopped.

“Why would it mean that?”

“Because, if they thought they were safe, they'd be making noises to communicate. But since they're quiet, they're probably hiding from something. And we're not loud or familiar enough to prompt that response.” Nene explained.

 

*****

 

“You can roleplay it. You don't have to just say you tell her.” Matsuri grumbled.

“But you summed it up so cleanly.” Nene replied with a small smile. Matsuri huffed.

 

*****

 

A soft growl echoed around the forest. Yuzu lowered her stance, and readied her axe. Mei and Himeko stepped closer.

“Did you hear that?” Himeko hissed. Yuzu nodded.

“Nene thinks there's a predator around. I think she's right.” She replied.

“I wouldn't have guessed.” Himeko said sarcastically.

“Where's Harumin?” Mei asked. Yuzu looked around. Harumin was no where to be seen.

“Oh shoot. Can I call out to her?” Yuzu asked. Nene shook her head.

“We don't know if it's found us yet or not.” She answered.

 

*****

 

“It has.” Matsuri said. “Roll initiative please.”

“15!” Yuzu announced.

“18” Harumin said.

“6” Nene sighed.

“21!” Himeko cheered.

“23.” Mei said calmly.

“Alright, there's gonna be a surprise round, so just let me set up the battlefield quickly.” Matsuri said, as she started moving miniatures around on the grid in front of them.

 

*****

 

There was a sound of claws on wood, and a large, lizard-like animal dropped from the trees above. It landed, and took a few quick steps towards them. It walked on it's hind legs, and had smaller arms up front, similar to a T-Rex, though not so small as to be useless. It was also quite tall, standing several feet taller than Yuzu. It stopped short of Nene and roared in her face.

 

*****

 

“Make a will save please Nene.” Matsuri asked.

“I got a 9.” Nene answered softly.

“Oh, that's not good.” Matsuri announced.

 

*****

 

Nene stumbled backwards, and fell on her ass, trembling in fear. Himeko sprung into action, casting a spell that hurled a bolt of fire at the monsters face. The monster paused, and made a sort, confused noise as it shook it's head away from the fire. Yuzu roared in anger, and ran forward, swinging at the beast. Her axe bounced off it's tough skin, and she stumbled backwards a half step.

The monster roared again, and pounced towards Yuzu. It knocked her over, and tried to take a large bite out of her face. Unfortunately for it, it's jaws spread too wide in it's eagerness, and got caught in the dirt, slowing it down for a moment.

No longer being confronted with the prospect of certain death, Nene climbed to her feet. She fumbled with her bow for a second before firing off an arrow. It bounced off the monsters face harmlessly. Himeko cast another firebolt, this one hitting the monster in it's neck.

Yuzu struggled underneath the monster, trying to kick it off, but it was too big and heavy for her to budge. It took a moment to keep her secure, before trying to take another bite out of her. This time, it got it's teeth into her, and she roared in pain. Mei responded instantly, casting Plea on Yuzu, stitching the wounds together a tiny bit.

Himeko, once again, fired off a firebolt, blasting the monster in the side of it's face. This time, it took notice of her, looking up from Yuzu. It looked around for a second, before locking it's gaze on Himeko.

“Hey! Over here!” Harumin's voice carried across the jungle. A stone accompanied it, hitting the monster in the side of the head. It turned to look at Harumin, who was standing some 30 feet away, waving and jumping. “Yeah! Over here you big idiot!”

 

*****

 

“Alright Yuzu, it's your turn.” Matsuri announced.

“Can this thing like...take me with it when it runs off? Or will I be unpinned?” Yuzu asked.

“It'll have to let go of pinning you to run at Harumin.” Matsuri answered.

“I'll hold my turn then.” Yuzu replied.

 

*****

 

The monster roared at Harumin, and set off at a run towards her. It almost reached her, before it's foot caught on something, and it came crashing down in front of her. Yuzu climbed to her feet, and ran up behind it, getting into position to attack it again. Nene fired again. This time the arrow sunk into the back of the monster's leg. Mei cast Plea again, and Yuzu's wounds sealed themselves further. She wasn't quite fully healed, but it was close enough. Himeko cast another firebolt, though this one was aimed too high, and it sailed over the downed monster, hitting a tree some distance away.

Harumin swung both her daggers at the beasts face. One of them bounced off the scales, but the other managed to cut into it. The monster growled in pain as the dagger pierced it's flesh. Yuzu roared from behind it, and lifted her axe high. She slammed it down into it's back leg. The monster roared back, though with a touch more pain than Yuzu.

 

*****

 

“Aihara Yuzu...” Himeko started. “You need to be stopped.”

“Huh? What did I do?” Yuzu asked.

“You rolled a 3. And did 16 damage!” Himeko replied.

“Oh...well...you know...” Yuzu said.

“Taniguchi-Senpai. Make a will save please.” Matsuri asked.

“13.” Harumin replied.

 

*****

 

The monster climbed to it's feet and roared in Harumin's face. She froze in place, and the monster went to take a large bite out of her. It caught her arm, and bit down hard, drawing a scream from it's victim.

“Harumin!” Yuzu called out. She looked back. “Mei, heal her first please!” Mei gave her a single, firm nod. Nene fired an arrow over Yuzu's shoulder, and into the monster. Himeko cast again, and missed once more, while Mei cast two quick Pleas on Harumin. Despite being healed, Harumin took a half step back, and fell to the ground, cowering before the monster. Yuzu took another big swing, and took another chunk out of the monster's leg. It roared, and spun, it's tail swinging over Yuzu's head. She'd have probably been knocked off her feet if it hit her. As it's head came around it lunged forward to bite her, but Yuzu managed to duck out of the way in time.

Nene shot another arrow. This one hit the monster in the eye, and it roared in pain. This was followed by another Firebolt from Himeko. Harumin finally climbed to her feet, and once again tried to stab the monster, this time aiming for one of it's back legs. One dagger stuck into it, while the other simply bounced off a bone-y chunk of the leg. Finally, Yuzu swung her axe, aiming for the beasts head. It smacked into the side of the monster's jaw, and sent it stumbling a few steps to the side. The monster roared, and turned, starting off at a run into the jungle.

“Should we chase it?” Yuzu asked, as she tried to catch her breath.

“We're not going to catch it if we try.” Nene replied. Yuzu nodded.

“Got it!” She said. “I guess we'll keep going then.”

 

*****

 

“We still get experience right?” Harumin asked. Matsuri rolled her eyes.

“Of course Taniguchi-Senpai. You all still get experience.” She answered. “You all get 600 experience. What are you doing next?”

“We're going to the ruins, right?” Yuzu asked, looking around. Mei nodded.

“That was your plan, yes.” She answered.

“Alright! Let's go!” Yuzu declared.

 

*****

 

They didn't reach the ruins that day. They made it to the edge of the valley with an hour or so until sundown. Getting into the valley was going to take them a while, and with the sun already low, they'd be working in the dark. So instead they backtracked to the nearest pillar, and climbed up the spiralling trail that ran up it.

“Why don't we just camp here?” Himeko asked, pointing to a flat section. They'd only climbed 60 feet up the pillar, which extended for another few hundred feet up. They hadn't even climbed high enough to breach the canopy.

“Because we don't have a good view from here.” Yuzu replied. Mei cleared her throat.

“I believe it would be best if we decided to camp here.” She announced calmly. Yuzu looked over at her.

“You do? Why?” Yuzu asked.

“Not everyone here has your stamina.” Mei replied tactfully. Beside her Harumin fell on her ass and let out a loud sigh.

“Yuzucchi! I'm exhausted!” She whined.

“Alright, alright! We'll camp here!” Yuzu declared. They took out their gear, and laid it out, ready to camp the night. Once it was set up, Yuzu walked to the edge and sat down. Below her, the jungle was noisy. Looking out through the trees, she could see where the valley started. They'd be heading down there tomorrow, to investigate the ruins, and hopefully find out the truth behind the pirate mystery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, back to Yuzu! I...honestly don't have a lot to say this update. The monster will be getting a name soon, and making a return eventually, but otherwise not a lot worthy of comment happened.
> 
> If you're thinking it's going a bit slow, focusing on all the busy work of planning, that's intentional. The point of this story is to be about people playing the game, and sometimes the game is a lot of sitting around and talking about how you're going to work things out. Skipping over it all I think misses the point of writing about the game. Besides, it means more interaction, which is always nice, and stops me from rushing through the plot too quickly.
> 
> Speaking of which, there will be more plot coming in the next few chapters, and the Island as a whole will be expanded out upon along with it. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this update, and I'll be back again on the 15th with Chapter Seven, a naming disaster as it's also about ruins, and I've already used the obvious Ruins and Love name.


	7. Puzzled Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group arrives at the ruins, and spends a while trying to solve a single puzzle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this one is shorter than normal! I originally wanted to have a bit after the puzzle, but I had a very busy week, and so I never got around to writing this until today. To avoid putting it out late, I decided to go a bit short. That means that Day Two of the game is likely to be an extra chapter in length to make up for it, and get through everything. On the plus side, there's some WORLD BUILDING.

The next morning the group made their way back down from the pillar, and then down into the valley. It was a treacherous path, but they took it slow, and after an hour or so, they safely reached the bottom. The vegetation here was different. In place of the large trees, there grew waist high bushes, that densely lined the floor. Every step was a nightmare, and Yuzu found herself swinging her axe wildly at the leaves, trying to clear a path for Himeko and Mei. Yuzu wasn't too fussed with the leaves. She was dressed light, and she was tough enough to shrug off the few scrapes she got. Harumin and Nene both wore long pants, which protected them without interfering with their mobility. Himeko and Mei however wore robes, which get caught on everything.

It took them another hour to make their way up the valley, but finally the vegetation died down, and they walked out onto the open rock. Here the valley widened, and stretched up towards the mountain top. The ruins sat above them in a terraced design, rolling up the slope of the mountain. A gently flowing stream meandered down from between two stairs into the ruins above, weaving into the leaves, where it vanished from sight.

“Wow. This is really pretty.” Yuzu remarked.

 

***** 

 

“You're really creative Matsuri!” Yuzu said.

“Aww, thanks Yuzu-Chan.” Matsuri replied with a grin.

“She didn't write that description.” Himeko said. “This entire adventure is a module.”

“Huh?” Yuzu replied. “What's a module?”

“A pre-written adventure. They're made by the creators of the game, for people who are too lazy to write their own.” Himeko explained.

“How do you know so much about that, hmm Eyebrow-Chan?” Matsuri asked, leaning towards her a little. Himeko looked kind of flustered.

“Oh, well. I just um. Had considered running something.” Himeko began to explain. “So I went to look for modules last night for inspiration and I just found this one by accident.”

“Really? You want to run a game?” Yuzu asked. Himeko hesitated, before nodding.

“I'm just thinking about it!” She replied.

“Can we get back to the current game?” Mei asked. “We can talk about Himeko's game later.”

“Right! Sorry Mei!” Yuzu said with a sheepish grin.

 

*****

 

“I bet it contains something really dangerous though.” Harumin said behind her. Yuzu glanced over at her and grinned.

“I hope so! I'm looking for a fight!” She replied, slamming a fist into her palm.

“We should set up camp first.” Mei announced from behind her. She had that cold, disinterested tone she picked up so often when Yuzu said something stupid. Yuzu sighed, before smiling.

“Alright! Camp first! Harumin, do you want to go and look around inside while we work?” She asked. Harumin nodded.

“Get out of chores? Sounds great.” She teased, before skipping off ahead of them. The group made their way up the hill, and stopped outside the ruins. There they started to pitch tents, while Harumin went ahead into the ruins. They spent a little while getting the camp set up, before sitting down to wait for Harumin's return. They didn't have long to wait at all, as she came out less than a minute later.

“Wow! What good timing!” Yuzu exclaimed.

“Thanks.” Harumin replied. “There's a puzzle lock in the first room. I tried to see if it was an easy solve, but I couldn't get past it.”

“How convenient then, that you walked out right now.” Himeko remarked. “Right as the last of the camp work is finished, you just happen to finish playing with the door.”

“Yeah, it is!” Harumin agreed with a smile. Nene and Yuzu laughed softly, while Himeko stared at Harumin in contempt.

“If Harumin has been testing out the lock, I'm sure she can explain to us everything she's learned while we eat lunch, and then we can go inside and try and clear things out.” Mei announced.

“Sure can!” Harumin replied.

 

*****

 

“What did I learn?” Harumin asked Matsuri. Matsuri grinned, and handed Harumin a piece of paper. Harumin spent a minute reading, before nodding. “Okay!”

 

*****

 

“Alright! So!” Harumin started, looking around. She didn't find anything she wanted, and so instead she pulled out a bunch of daggers. She laid out five in front of her. “There's a single big door in the room. It's got these five bowls attached to it.” She pointed to each dagger in front of her, before placing two more daggers above the first and fourth daggers. “These two are labelled with a red and blue symbol above them. The others had symbols, but they've all broken down by now.”

“Were they important?” Yuzu asked. Harumin nodded.

“I think so. On the other side of the room there's four bowls of water. They've got pictures above them. There's a picture of a Bird, a Bull, a Garden and a Snake. And then on one wall there's...I think it's a Calendar, and the other wall has a set of symbols.” Harumin finished explaining.

 

*****

 

“May I attempt a knowledge check for any significance?” Mei asked.

“Go for it Mei-San.” Matsuri replied. Mei rolled.

“I rolled a 14 so...24.” She announced.

“What! How did you get a 24?” Yuzu exclaimed.

“It's a skill check.” Mei replied simply. Yuzu looked down at her own sheet. She had a +10 listed in Ride. Most of the bonus came from taking 7 skill ranks in it.

“Oh...okay.” She said.

“Alright Mei-San, this is what you know.” Matsuri said, handing a piece of paper across to Mei.

 

*****

 

“The pictures likely relate to four of the Spiritual Lords.” Mei announced. “The Calendar likely contains a hint as to how they relate to the coloured tiles.”

“The Spirit what?” Harumin asked. Mei sighed.

“The Spiritual Lords. The aspects of all Spiritual Magic. Maybe you've heard of Calariah?”

 

*****

 

“Have I heard of her?” Harumin asked.

“Have you gone to church?” Matsuri replied.

“I've...robbed one.” Harumin answered.

“Then kind of. She's the person worshipped in human temples.” Matsuri answered. Yuzu put a hand up.

“Do I know any of the lords?”

“Your people would've worshipped Ellsie, the Lady of Eternity. She's in charge of the afterlife.”

 

*****

 

“Oh, yeah. Calariah. Of course.” Harumin said, nodding. Mei sighed.

“Calariah is the Lady of Light. She created humans. She's represented by the Bird. The Bull is Caltali, the Lord of Spirits, the Garden represents Ellsie, the Lady of Eternity, and the Snake is Balendin, the Lord of Shadow.” Mei explained.

“Oh! I know Ellsie! My people worshipped her!” Yuzu exclaimed. Mei nodded.

“That doesn't surprise me. She created the Orcs. Balendin never made anything. Caltali made a race but...no one's ever found it. It's believed it lives where the Orcs were.” Mei continued to explain.

“This is interesting, but how does it help us get through the door?” Nene asked.

“There might be a hint that relates to trivia about them!” Yuzu suggested. “So, let's go check it out!”

“Wait!” Himeko declared. She looked over at Harumin suspiciously. “What did you try to get past it?”

“Huh? Oh. I tried pouring the water into one of the coloured bowls. I think it was wrong though, since a dart was shot at my head. I barely dodged it. Then the bowl emptied itself. The water re-appeared under the symbol when I put it back.” Harumin explained. “But from looking at the symbols, I think I got lucky it was just a dart.”

“Why do you say that?” Nene asked.

“Some of the symbols depicted bad things happening to people. There was one for a single dart, as well as a lot of darts, or the room being flooded.” Harumin answered.

“So, we'll just have to be very careful!” Yuzu announced, getting to her feet. Harumin started putting her daggers back where they belonged, while everyone else got up. They headed up, and into the ruins, to confront the door.

 

Harumin's description had been surprisingly accurate, Yuzu thought. Walking in they were immediately confronted with the labelled bowls. Yuzu stopped at the door and looked around. On either side of the door lay the bowls of water. Mei wasted no time, storming across the room to the calendar, which she stared up at for a minute. Yuzu walked over to her. She wasn't sure what she was meant to be doing here.

“The calendar symbols are all in red.” Mei remarked.

“Huh?” Yuzu replied. She looked up. Sure enough, every month was labelled in red.

“Yuzu, would you please take the Bull bowl and pour it into the red bowl?” Mei asked.

“Oh, sure thing!” Yuzu replied. She walked across the room and carefully picked up the bowl under the bull. She poured it into the red bowl and waited. Nothing happened. She turned to look at Mei, but she wasn't by the calendar. Yuzu looked around quickly, and spotted them all standing just outside the door.

“Great work Yuzucchi!” Harumin called.

“Thanks? Why are you all out there?” Yuzu asked.

“Well, if Mei-Mei had been tricked, we didn't want to all share your fate.” Himeko explained.

“Tricked? You mean wrong?” Harumin asked. Himeko huffed loudly.

“Mei-Mei wouldn't be wrong!” She declared. Mei walked back into the room, and headed over to the other side of the room. She stopped in front of the wall of symbols. Himeko followed her across.

“I'm not sure what to make of these.” Mei said after a moment of staring.

 

*****

 

“Can I make a knowledge check to read it?” Himeko asked.

“What knowledge?” Matsuri asked. Himeko looked down at her skill list.

“History?” Himeko replied uncertainly. Matsuri glanced down at her notes before nodding.

“Go for it.”

“31!” Himeko declared proudly. Yuzu leaned forward to look across the table. Himeko's dice was resting on a 20. Matsuri nodded, and shuffled through her papers, before pulling out a sheet and handing it to Himeko. Himeko put her nose down in the paper and started reading.

 

*****

 

“They appear to tell the story of the Spiritual Lords.” Himeko declared. She leaned up and pointed to the top. “At first it talks about Asnora, the first one. Then it goes on to talk about Balendin. It tells the story of him stealing the dead from Ellsie. Finally it tells the story of how he was trapped by Koralia.”

“Who's Koralia?” Yuzu asked.

“She's the Aspect of Frost. Kind of like a Spiritual Lord, but for Mages.” Himeko answered.

 

*****

 

“What? I read the lore!” Himeko said, as everyone stared at her in shock.

 

*****

 

“One of the characters you pointed to is in blue.” Mei remarked. “Which one is it?”

“It's Koralia.” Himeko responded. Mei frowned.

“That's unfortunate. If it had been Balendin we would have had an easy solution.” She replied.

“How did Koralia trap him?” Harumin asked.

“She froze herself in an ice block with him. They're trapped together.” Himeko answered.

“So...he'd be blue now too, right?” Harumin suggested.

“It's...worth a try.” Mei admitted. Harumin grinned.

“You're welcome!” She declared, as she skipped towards the door.

“Which bowl am I putting in?” Yuzu asked with a sigh, resigning herself to her fate of test subject.

“The Snake.” Mei answered. Yuzu waited until they'd all filed outside, before taking the Snake bowl, and pouring it into the blue bowl. Nothing happened.

“So far, so good!” Yuzu declared, looking back at the others. They all trudged back in, and began looking around.

“I'm not seeing any other colours.” Nene remarked after a little while. “There's only red and blue things.”

“Maybe the other clues are hidden elsewhere.” Harumin suggested. “Was there anything else up with the wall?” Himeko was standing by it, still reading.

“It starts talking about Calariah afterwards.” Himeko replied. “Balendin gets mentioned a lot. It's old though, so it's a bit hard to read sometimes.”

“What's hard about it?” Harumin asked. “It's just words right?”

“It's not just words! They're following the rules sometimes, but other times the sentences are strange. Like this sentence.” She pointed to one. “Balendin is the focus of it, but his name placed at the very end of the sentence, even though he should be at the front.”

“Is it like that everwhere else?” Mei asked. Himeko shook her head.

“Only sometimes.” She replied. “Like...here, and here. This one is doing it to Calariah.” “This one talks about Balendin and Ellsie, and it's structured weird too.” Harumin stared at the wall for a moment, before snapping her fingers.

“I think I have an idea!” She declared. She dropped her bag, and rummaged around for a bit, before pulling out several sticks of chalk. “Put an X over everywhere Balendin, Calariah and Ellsie is mentioned. Use different colours for each one.” She said, thrusting the chalk to Himeko.

“Why? I'm not going to desecrate an ancient building just because you told me to.” Himeko asked.

“Just do it. I have a theory! Besides, it'll wash off, it's just chalk.” Harumin insisted.

“Let's hear her out.” Mei said. Himeko sighed, and took the chalk. She spent a few minutes drawing on the wall. Once she was done, everyone stepped back.

“Huh.” Yuzu said.

“Interesting.” Mei muttered. The wall was covered in crosses. The Calariah and Balendin crosses kept their distance. Himeko had also underlined the sentences that were strange. Every single one of them was next to another, normal sentence that mentioned the other one. They'd been changed to ensure that the two symbols didn't go close to each other. Likewise, anywhere that Ellsie was mentioned, her symbol was directly next to Balendin's symbol.

“I...guess we try putting Ellsie next to Balendin's bowl.” Yuzu said.

“That would seem to be the implication.” Mei answered. They repeated the usual process of placing the water into the bowl, this time emptying the Garden bowl into the second bowl, next to the blue bowl. Once again, nothing happened.

“Now what?” Yuzu asked.

“Pour the bird into the last bowl. The middle bowl should stay empty, since Asnora is typically placed in the middle of everyone.” Mei suggested. Yuzu complied, and soon all the bowls had been emptied, and no traps were sprung. Despite this, the door remained closed.

 

*****

 

“Why isn't it opening? Didn't we solve the puzzle?” Yuzu pouted.

“You shouldn't make assumptions Yuzu-Chan. You should know that by now.” Matsuri chided her.

 

*****

 

The group spent another twenty minutes looking around, poking at things. Yuzu had given up after three. She dropped onto her back and stared at the roof while she waited. The roof was well decorated, with a large, stylised white moon taking up the centre. It appeared to be a section that was dropped from the roof, though it was hard to tell. Finally Harumin got bored too, and sat down beside Yuzu.

“Hey Yuzucchi.” She said.

“Hey Harumin.” Yuzu replied.

“What do you think?” Harumin asked. Yuzu shrugged.

“The moon's pretty.” She remarked.

“That's such a weird thing to be thinking about.” Harumin teased. “It's not even close to night time.”

“No, I mean the moon up there.” Yuzu replied, pointing up. Harumin looked up.

“Oh, huh. That is pretty.” She said. For a minute they stared at it. “You don't think that's important, do you?” Harumin finally asked. Yuzu looked up.

“Hey Mei. Does anyone have anything to do with the Moon?”

“Asnora is the Moon.” Mei replied flatly. Yuzu blinked.

“What?”

“It's...complicated.” Mei said simply. “Anyway, why do you ask?” Yuzu pointed up. Mei's gaze followed the direction she pointed. “Oh.” She said simply.

“What is it?” Himeko asked, looking over from the wall of symbols. She also looked up and saw the moon. “I see. Well, what's up there?”

“I can't climb up there.” Harumin declared. “The walls are too flat.”

“I could lift you!” Yuzu suggested. Harumin shrugged.

“Sure, why not.” She said. Yuzu wrapped her arms around Harumin's waist and hoisted her up into the air.

“Alright, this is definitely another bowl. I can't get it down, but I can tip it. It looks like it lines up with the middle bowl.” Harumin said.

“Be careful.” Nene called.

“I will!” Harumin replied. She lifted the edge of the bowl, and the water tipped from it. Yuzu looked over to the door. It was hard to see with her face pressed to Harumin's back, but she could make out a trail of water pouring into the bowl. This continued for a moment, before finally it stopped, and Harumin set the bowl back. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the bowls started to lift, sliding up the door. Once they reached the ceiling, the door swung open, letting them in.

“We did it!” Yuzu cheered.

“Now we have to come up with a plan for the rest of the ruins.” Mei said. Yuzu sighed. She was right. The door lead into nothing but unknown darkness.

“Alright! Let's head back out and get some rest!” Yuzu declared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you have it. That first little bit is a bit of foreshadowing for my plans regarding Volume 2. Though, Volume 2 obviously won't be started until I'm finished with Volume 1, and it's only vaguely planned, as I need to see how the story ends. I HAD A POINT HERE ABOUT CITRUS ENDING SOON BUT LIKE APPARENTLY THE NEWS SOURCE WE GOT IT FROM IS AMBIGUOUS IN TRANSLATION SO LIKE WHO FUCKING KNOWS EITHER WAY REMOVING THE NOTE NOW TO AVOID SPREADING MORE MISINFORMATION. BELIEVE NOTHING.
> 
> Other than that, not a lot to say, so until next month, I hope you enjoyed this(regretably short) update.


	8. A Lovely Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group heads into the dungeon, and makes a discovery about the origin of the pirates on the island.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY THIS IS LATE! I kept getting side-tracked, and couldn't get it written in time. I'll try and be better from here on!

“So you rest for another day?” Matsuri asked.  
“I think we rest until an hour before sundown.” Yuzu suggested. “So we can plan, and then we head inside to clear out a room or two?”  
“Wouldn't it be better just to sleep through the night in that case?” Himeko asked. “There won't be any light when we come out.”  
“And we don't know what we'll find in there.” Mei added. Yuzu frowned.  
“I guess...” She conceded. “We'll rest for the day, and go in in the morning.”  
“Alright! You get a good night's sleep, and wake up the next morning.” Matsuri narrated. “Once you get up, you all have breakfast, and then make your way into the ruins. Unless you don't?” She paused, looking around at the group.  
“That sounds right.” Yuzu replied after a moment of silence.  
“You walk back up to the ruins, and make your way through the door. It's cold, and musky inside the ruins with a gentle breeze blowing from it.” Matsuri continued. “You make your way down the corridor, the sounds of creaking bones echoing from deeper within the ruins. After a minute of walking, you reach the first room. You're standing on a bridge which leads across the large room. The bridge is broken in the middle, though you can see a large pile of rubble has been built up on the far side. Seven skeletons are standing around on the lower floor, walking around idly.”  
“What does the broken bridge look like?” Mei asked.  
“Good question Mei-San! It's like...this.” Matsuri leaned over, and adjusted some of the walls on the paper grid. She took a moment to rebuild the room, with a pair of walls in the middle. “Those walls are pillars that held the bridge up before.” Mei nodded.  
“We could consider back tracking and preparing a way to cross the bridge.” Mei suggested.  
“That'd mean taking another day to get to the fighting.” Yuzu said. It was half a question, half a statement. Mei looked at her intently, and nodded slowly. She looked concerned, Yuzu thought.  
“Of course it does. Surely you can wait a little longer before you pick a fight.” Himeko replied. Yuzu chewed on her lip for a moment, thinking. Beside her Harumin sighed loudly.  
“You had to say that huh?” She said. Yuzu nodded.  
“I'm going to draw my axe and jump on the nearest skeleton!” She declared.  
“There it is.” Harumin muttered. Himeko sighed.  
“Aihara Yuzu...” She groaned.

*****

Yuzu's axe smashed into the skeleton's skull. Half of the skull caved in, and the skeleton stumbled back a step, before righting itself, and turning to stare at her. The skeletons around the room turned to face her slowly. A second later the skeleton took a half step back as a dagger landed squarely between it's eyes. Yuzu snorted softly. It looked so silly. A second dagger bounced off the wall behind it, and Harumin cursed softly. She was joined by Himeko, who cursed as her firebolt hit the stones beside the skeleton instead.  
“Yuzu, be ready to be burned when the skeletons mob you. I can't control the fireballs enough to keep you out of it. Mei-Mei, can you heal her?” Himeko called, her tone going suddenly sweet as she turned to addressing Mei.  
“I can.” Mei answered simply. She stood rigid above Yuzu, watching the battle with a look that could border on condescension, though Yuzu knew better by now. Yuzu looked back at the skeleton in front of her just in time to see an arrow land in it's skull. That seemed to be enough to break the magic holding it, as it toppled to the ground. Yuzu let out a loud shout, and charged towards the next skeleton, taking a big swing at it.  
The axe clipped the skeleton's ribs, as Yuzu found herself a bit further back then she'd originally thought. Even so, the axe tore through the bone, and the section of ribs shattered, sending pieces scattering across the room.  
The skeletons charged at Yuzu, swinging their cutlasses at her. One of them managed to pierce her skin, and she let out a grunt of pain. It honestly wasn't that bad. Another dagger hit the wall nearby, and clattered to the floor.  
“Look out Yuzu!” Himeko called. A ball of fire exploded out around her, engulfing both Yuzu, and the skeletons. When the flames cleared, Yuzu found herself still standing among several scorched skeletons. Her hair was smoking, and she could feel light burns across her body, but she was mostly okay.  
“Let me help.” Mei said. Yuzu didn't look up, though she could feel Mei's magic flow through her, and the pain of the burns ease. It wasn't entirely gone, but it helped. An arrow flew from above, and smacked into the skeleton Yuzu was facing off against. It stumbled, but didn't fall. Yuzu sighed, and took another swing at it. She missed.  
The skeletons took another swing at her. This time three of them managed to land a blow. It hurt. Two more daggers hit the ground around the skeletons.

*****

“Geez!” Harumin groaned. “What is with these dice?” She asked. Her dice sat in front of her showing a 1 and a 6.  
“I know! It's the worst!” Yuzu replied. She'd rolled a 1 on her last attack as well.  
“Alright Himeko, it's your turn.” Matsuri declared.  
“I'll cast another fireball.” Himeko announced. She grabbed her dice, and started rolling. “19 again!”  
“Alright, Yuzu, roll your reflex save please.” Matsuri asked.  
“11.” Yuzu grumbled.  
“So you take 19 as well.” Matsuri said. Yuzu nodded, and updated her HP. She was now down to 69 out of 122. “And then another skeleton dies. Mei-San, your turn.”  
“I'll heal Yuzu with two more pleas.” Mei answered, rolling her dice. She took a second, before looking back up. “You heal for 15.” Yuzu smiled.  
“Thanks Mei.” She replied, updating her HP again.  
“So, my turn right?” Nene asked. Matsuri nodded. “I'll shoot them again, I got...18!”  
“You rolled an 8.” Himeko remarked. Nene nodded.  
“And then I deal...16 damage.”  
“Alright, another skeleton dies.” Matsuri announced.

*****

Yuzu swung her axe at a skeleton, clipping it on the shoulder and shattering it's arm. Unfortunately, she'd missed the weapon arm, and it still posed a threat, though with the kind of damage, it wouldn't be lasting much longer. The skeletons all swung at her again, and two more slashes landed on Yuzu's arms. She grit her teeth, and waited. She was certain she was about to be engulfed by another fireball. Hopefully, it'd be the last.  
Before the fireball could land however, another dagger clattered uselessly to the ground, and Yuzu couldn't help but smirk at the soft cursing from Harumin above her. Then the fireball struck, and she was engulfed once again. This time however, she'd been ready for it, and as she spotted the burst of flames, she managed to take cover. The flames burned her arms, and her side, but she managed to avoid the worst of it.  
“Thanks Mei!” Yuzu shouted, as she felt her wounds healing again. Without Mei here, she'd probably be on her last leg right now. With her around however, Yuzu felt like she could go for hours. She knew she couldn't, of course, but she felt like she could. Another arrow from Nene landed on a skeleton, causing it to crumble to pieces.  
Yuzu took a swing at another skeleton, felling it easily. The last two skeletons swung, but missed. A moment later two daggers flew down at the skeletons, one managing to stick into a skull. The skeleton toppled over, leaving just one standing against Yuzu. A small puff of fire flew down at it, but missed, and Himeko grumbled softly. The last skeleton glowed for a moment, before collapsing to the ground. Yuzu turned and looked up to see what had happened. Mei was standing in her usual casting stance.  
“Did you kill it?” Yuzu asked. Mei nodded.  
“It looked weak enough that a simple smite would do it.” She replied. Yuzu grinned at her.  
“Thanks! Would you mind healing me again?” Yuzu requested. Mei shook her head, and started casting healing spells. She went a bit slower than she did in combat, though Yuzu didn't complain. While she was being healed Harumin jumped down and started retrieving her daggers from the ground. Nene jumped down as well, while Himeko awkwardly sat on the edge, and slid down. Mei went to do the same, and Yuzu jumped forward.  
“Let me help you.” She offered, holding her arms up for Mei. Mei hesitated, before nodding, and sliding forward into Yuzu's arms. Yuzu grabbed her hips, and lowered her down slowly. “There you go!”  
“Thank you.” Mei replied simply.

*****

“So, how much experience do we get?” Yuzu asked quickly, trying to change the subject and hide the blush that had started to form on her face.  
“That encounter was worth another 800 experience, and I'm giving you 300 for the puzzle, so that's 1100 experience all up.” Matsuri announced. Everyone took a moment to jot the experience down.  
“Hey Yuzucchi, when can we get lunch?” Harumin asked.  
“Huh? Oh, whenever you want I guess.” Yuzu answered.  
“I wouldn't mind eating now...” Nene said softly. Yuzu looked around at the others. Himeko was nodding.  
“Though, I would appreciate it if you'd go easier on the spices Aihara Yuzu.” She said. Yuzu smiled.  
“Got it! I'll make two dishes in that case!” She announced, jumping up.

Lunch didn't take too long to cook, and soon everyone was eating and chatting about the game.  
“Are we gonna have to fight more skeletons?” Harumin asked. “I'm kinda getting bored of fighting them over and over.” Matsuri looked down at her sheet, humming as she thought.  
“There's one more fight against them...but I guess I can just give you the experience for it instead.” She announced. “You need it for the next fight. And I know you're not going to lose so...you all gain 1300 experience, which puts you up to level 4!”  
“Couldn't you have decided that before we started eating?” Himeko complained. Matsuri grinned at her.  
“Where's the fun in that?” She replied. Himeko huffed, and looked down at her sheet.  
“Fine. I'll start levelling up.” She grumbled. Everyone turned to their sheets, and started levelling up. Yuzu took a level in Warrior, which gave her another feat. She spent it on weapon focus for short swords, which also gave her two-weapon fighting. Level four also meant she got a new attribute point, which she spent on Constitution to further increase her HP and AC.  
“What are you taking Harumin?” Yuzu asked, looking over at her.  
“I picked up Uncanny Dodge.” Harumin answered. Yuzu blinked.  
“Huh? What's that do?”  
“It stops people from sneaking up on me. I can't lose AC from being flat footed, and I can't be hit with sneak attack unless they're way stronger than me.” Harumin explained.  
“Oh, that's cool! What about everyone else?” Yuzu looked around the table.  
“I picked up Favored Enemy for animals. In case we run into another dinosaur thing.” Nene answered.  
“I just took Blazing Speed. It's the only real choice for this level.” Himeko announced.  
“Why is it your only choice?” Harumin asked.  
“Mages can only take the feature of their elemental speciality.” Matsuri answered. “Or they can pick a single neutral option that isn't as good.” Himeko nodded.  
“I picked up Blast Wave though, so now I have even more area damage.” She added.  
“What about you Mei? What did you pick?” Yuzu asked.  
“I picked up Absolution, and took the Dispel Magic spell to go with it.” Mei replied. “Absolution means when I dispel one magic effect, I dispel all of them on the target.”  
“Oh! That's really cool! So, are we all done? Can we keep going?” Yuzu asked.   
“What did you level up Yuzu-Chan?” Matsuri asked.  
“I picked up two-weapon fighting. And I still have my old axe, right? So I can use both of them at once now?” Yuzu replied. Matsuri nodded.  
“That's right. So, if everyone's ready, let's continue.” Matsuri said, looking around for confirmation. Everyone nodded.

*****

The climb out of the room was a bit harder than the drop in. While there was a ramp of rubble, it wasn't evenly spread, and the girls had to take turns boosting or pulling each other up to the top. Harumin and Yuzu had an easy time climbing up, but the others needed a decent amount of help, and so Yuzu climbed ahead to help pull them up, while Harumin hung back, giving people boosts as needed.  
Once they got to the top, they carried on down the tunnel, it continued in darkness for several hundred feet, before abruptly coming to an end. The tunnel opened out into a walkway, they sat nestled into a rock face, overlooking the jungle as it wound down, and into a covered bay. It was a gorgeous sight, and Yuzu gasped softly.  
The water of the bay sparkled enticingly, the morning sun that fell into the bay dancing on the waves. The trees were loose in comparison to the rest of the island, giving the place a more welcoming look, and a visible path ran from the water up towards them. Looking around Yuzu could see the walkway lead them along the rocky face, and into other doorways. The whole place looked like a small village, built into the rocks, and in the centre of it sat a stairway down to the path that was offered.  
Yuzu's gaze ran back down the pathway. Once it reached the water it turned, and ran to the side, and for a second Yuzu thought she could see something black moving between the trees. She started walking across the village, trying to get a better angle. She didn't have to walk far before the trees moved aside, and she could see the source of the colour. A beautiful boat sat floating on the water, anchored beside a small wooden dock. Atop the mast flew a flag, baring a skull and crossbones.  
“We found them!” She squealed.  
“Huh? What did we find?” Harumin asked, as she walked over.  
“The pirates! We found them!” Yuzu repeated pointing. Harumin looked over.  
“Guess we did.” She replied. Mei walked over.  
“What are you squealing about?” She asked, with a small, amused smile.  
“We found the pirate's ship!” Yuzu said, grinning. Mei looked over.  
“Congratulations.” She replied simply. The others walked over.  
“Oh! The pirates! You were really excited about finding those, weren't you Yuzu?” Nene commented. Yuzu smiled.  
“I was! Geez, I'm glad someone can get excited for me.” She groaned.  
“Well, let's go down and have a poke around!” Harumin declared, slapping Yuzu on the back. “Maybe we'll find the captain's secret diary which contains the location of all his buried treasure!”  
“Even if we did, we're not here for buried treasure.” Mei said, as she started walking.  
“Huh? Then what are we here for?” Harumin asked, skipping down the steps after her. Yuzu and the others set off a bit slower behind them.  
“We're here, to ensure the safety of the townspeople.” Mei answers curtly. “Which is why we're going down to the ship, to make sure there's no more skeletons there that might pose a threat.” Harumin sighed, and slowed down, dropping back until she was walking beside Yuzu.  
“Geez Yuzucchi, your sister's a real piece of work.” Harumin complained, just loudly enough for Mei to hear.  
“She's not that bad!” Yuzu insisted. “She just...had a different life than us.”  
“Yeah, so? She should pay more attention to where she is. We've got a year to clear everything up. We can spend a week looking to make some money on the side.” Harumin continued. “It's not like I'm suggesting we take the ship and run or anything, I was just thinking out loud about making some money.” Yuzu nodded.  
“I'll talk with her when we get back to the inn.” She said.  
“Okay. Thanks Yuzucchi!” Harumin exclaimed, grinning. Yuzu sighed in relief.

*****

“Why do you two have to keep picking fights?” Yuzu whined.  
“I'm simply playing my character.” Mei replied. Harumin nodded.  
“Same! Harumin doesn't like goody goody types.” She said.  
“Are you sure you're talking about your character?” Himeko muttered.

*****

The walk down to the ship was surprisingly leisurely. The slope was rather shallow, and the trees didn't cross their path at all. It was the easiest walk they'd made since they arrived. It took a little over ten minutes to walk down to the docks. Up close, the ship was fascinating to look at. The wood was pristine, as if it was fresh from the tree, though the metal was tarnished and faded.  
“Weird.” Harumin remarked.  
“Do we even want to go near that?” Himeko asked. “It could be a trap.”  
“Who would make a trap here?” Yuzu replied. Himeko scowled.  
“Or cursed! Why else does it look so weird?”  
“I don't know! That's why I'm going to check it out!” Yuzu answered, as she started walking forward. There was a rope ladder hanging off the boat which looked like it was going to snap under any amount of pressure, so Yuzu instead grabbed an open spell port, and climbed up on top of it. From there she jumped, and grabbed the edge of the ship, pulling herself up onto the deck. The deck of the ship was deserted, and so Yuzu looked back. Harumin helped the others up onto the spell port, while Yuzu dragged them up onto the deck. Once everyone else was up, Harumin climbed the ladder. It held just long enough for her to make it most of the way up. As the ropes snapped, Harumin jumped for the top, and Yuzu dived, grabbing her hand. The two girls laughed, as Yuzu pulled Harumin up onto the boat.  
“Thanks Yuzucchi.” Harumin said.  
“Anytime!” Yuzu replied. Harumin collapsed onto the boat beside her, and for a moment the girls just lay there, recovering from the rush of what just happened. Their rest was cut short however, as a dagger landed in the deck beside them.  
Yuzu started to jump to her feet as she looked for the source of the dagger. A skeleton, wearing ruined old clothes was standing at the door to the cabin. It was a bit shorter than the others, and stood with a bit of a forward lean, that made it look as if it was skulking. In it's hand was a fan of knives, and as Yuzu watched, another appeared in it's hand.  
“It vanished!” Harumin declared. Yuzu glanced down. Sure enough, the dagger that had just hit the deck beside them was gone.

*****

“Okay! Roll initiative!” Matsuri announced. She took a moment to jot down the numbers everyone announced. “Alright, Taniguchi-San, you first.”

*****

Harumin climbed to her feet, and sprinted up the stairs behind her, before turning and running along the railing, stopping somewhere above the pirate skeleton. Yuzu charged at the skeleton, drawing her two axes from their new position at her waist. She roared with fury, and swung the magic one at the skeleton. The axe connected with it's shoulder, taking a large chip out of the bone. The skeleton chattered it's teeth at her in response, and Yuzu grimaced. It was kinda creepy.  
Suddenly, a small explosion appeared, starting from the centre of the skeleton's ribcage, and blowing out quickly to catch most of the skeleton. As the fire faded, the skeleton glowed with a faint, fire-like coat. Yuzu hazarded a second to glance over her shoulder to see Himeko had just finished casting a spell.  
The skeleton hopped back, and Yuzu took a swing at it, but it darted away too quickly for her to connect. It danced across the deck of the ship, twisting and spinning, loosing knives from the fan every step of the way. It threw a dagger at everyone on the deck, one hitting Yuzu, Harumin and Mei, while the other two flew wide, stabbing into the deck of the ship. Nene fired off an arrow at the pirate. It lodged itself into the pirate's arm.  
“Who needs healing most?” Mei shouted.  
“I do!” Harumin called back.  
“I'm okay.” Yuzu said quickly. Mei nodded, and hurriedly cast her usual two pleas, healing both herself and Harumin.

*****

“It's back to you Taniguchi-San.” Matsuri announced. Harumin sighed loudly, and looked down at the board.  
“I can't even reach him in a single move.” She grumbled. “And without Yuzu next to him there's no point in throwing a dagger.”  
“You could hold your turn.” Matsuri suggested.  
“That means I can take it later, right?” Harumin asked. “I keep seeing Yuzucchi and Mei do it, but I haven't had to do it yet.”  
“It does, yes.” Mei answered. Harumin chewed her lip for a moment.  
“Nah, I'm gonna run up to him. Or, jump over the banister, and then charge at him.” Harumin picked up her figure, and moved it over to sit next to the pirate, taking a slightly longer route to make sure she left open a charging window for Yuzu.  
“I'll charge him again!” Yuzu declared. She slid her model into position, and grabbed her dice. “Another 12!” She announced, immediately grabbing her damage dice and rolling that too. It came up a 7. “So that's...20 damage all up.”  
“Sometimes I wonder why we even bother showing up to these fights.” Himeko muttered.  
“You were really useful against the other skeletons! It takes me a while to kill lots of enemies, and if they were a bit stronger I could've been killed there.” Yuzu told her. Himeko smiled.  
“When you put it that way, I suppose I understand. I'll cast firebolt.” Himeko announced, rolling her dice. It landed on an 18, which Yuzu knew was a hit. She grabbed her damage dice, a d8, in comparison to Yuzu's d12, and rolled. “17 damage. Which with combustion turns into a 25.” She announced finally. She'd rolled a 7 as well.  
“What's combustion?” Yuzu asked.  
“It's when something burns. Geez Yuzu-Chan, I thought you were smarter than that.” Matsuri teased.  
“It's the effect the last spell I cast applies. It increases all the fire damage they take.” Himeko explained. She looked quite pleased with herself after that damage output.  
“Now, Skele-Chan is going to make another run for it, which means you both get attacks of opportunity again.” Matsuri announced, picking up the skeleton mini and moving it away. Harumin and Yuzu both rolled. Neither of them hit. “And now he's throwing another fan of daggers.” Matsuri rolled the dice a few times.  
“Who got hit?” Yuzu asked.  
“Everyone but Taniguchi-San.” Matsuri announced. She took a moment to rattle off damages. Yuzu took 11, which put her up to 19 damage total. Mei meanwhile took 18 damage from a single knife. Nene and Himeko both took 12 damage.  
“I'll heal myself and Himeko this turn.” Mei announced. “I heal for 10, and Himeko for 11.” Yuzu let out a soft, relieved sigh. She had a lot of HP, but she knew the others didn't, and she was worried about Mei going down if she took too many more knives like that.  
“Nene, your turn.” Matsuri declared. Nene nodded, and rolled.  
“I'm shooting at him, and then I want to move.” She replied. “I got a 31, and am dealing...18 damage.”  
“Alright, back to you Taniguchi-San.” Matsuri said.  
“I'll hold this turn.” Harumin announced.

*****

Yuzu charged at the pirate again. She was getting really fed up with him running away, and with him hitting Mei so often. She swung at him, but this time the skeleton spun to the side, dodging out of Yuzu's arc of attack. Harumin charged after her, with a loud shout. She drew her cutlass as she charged, and tried to stab the pirate with it.  
The cutlass jammed into the skeletons chest, where it got stuck for a moment, before Harumin managed to pull it out, breaking bones as she went. Himeko fired another firebolt at the skeleton, before twisting her hands and casting a second spell, scorching the pirate. Once again, the skeleton jumped away, and Harumin and Yuzu swung at it. This time, they both managed to connect. The skeleton threw daggers back at the two, but it's movement was thrown off by the impact of the parting blows, and it's attacks flew wide. The daggers meant for Mei, Himeko and Nene all hit however.  
Mei cast two more pleas, one on herself, and the other on Nene. Despite her efforts, it was clear that they were starting to get worn down by their wounds. Yuzu grit her teeth. They'd have to kill him soon, if they didn't want it all to spiral out of control from here. Nene fired an arrow at the skeleton, though it ducked under it. Yuzu capitalized on the distraction, charging forward and slamming her axe into the skeleton's skull. It collapsed to the ground, and this time didn't get up. Yuzu leant on her axe and caught her breath.  
“Did we do it?” She asked. Harumin wandered over to stop beside her.  
“I think so.” She replied, immediately bending down and picking up a pair of the knives. She tossed one at the deck, and waited a second. It stabbed into the deck, before vanishing, and reappearing in Harumin's hand. “This is awesome.” She announced.  
“Well I'm glad you got something nice out of this. Again.” Himeko said.  
“You can have some if you want. He's got five of these things.” Harumin offered.  
“No thank you.” Himeko replied.  
“Hey, was that skeleton always there?” Nene asked, pointing to the other side of the boat. Yuzu looked over. A skeleton was draped over the edge of the boat, like it was trying to clamber up onto the deck.  
“I don't think so.” Yuzu replied. She was about to walk over and look at it, but she was interrupted by a loud creak from the far side of the deck. She looked over to see another skeleton walk out of the cabin, a small demon perched on it's shoulder. It was dressed in fancy robes, and looked at them for a moment. There was something about it that gave Yuzu the chills. Movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she looked over to see the skeleton Nene had spotted was now climbing up onto the deck. It pulled a large axe up with it, and settled into a low, warrior's stance.  
“It's not over.” Yuzu groaned.  
“Not yet.” Harumin agreed. There was a gentle creak from behind them, and Yuzu glanced over her shoulder to see the first skeleton they'd felled climbing back to his feet. They were now surrounded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd say I feel bad for ending on a cliffhanger but...I really don't. When I started writing the fight, I considered ending on the cliffhanger of the dagger in the deck, but I didn't want to cut another chapter short. Then by the end of the fight I realized I'd be taking even longer to get the next update out if I didn't cut it a bit short, so you ended up getting the cliffhanger anyway. Hurray!


	9. Three Thieves of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls get locked in the most dangerous fight so far, facing off against the three undead pirate captains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So since the end of Citrus is now confirmed, I'm gonna be making some effort to work faster on getting Volume 1 finished. Assuming that my plans for Volume 2 aren't absolutely destroyed by the final chapter. If they ARE destroyed by the final chapter, I'll probably still pick up the pace a bit, but will have to re-work my plan for Volume 2. So basically, in place of a hard release date of 1st and 15th, we have release by dates of the 1st and 15th, and I'll just throw up updates as they're ready. Sometimes that'll mean just 2 in the month, sometimes that'll mean you get one on the 1st, another on the 8th, and then a final one on the 17th. Who knows? Not me. Point is you can still check back 1st and 15th and always have something new to read.

Harumin was the first one off the mark. She tossed the two daggers she'd picked up at the robe-wearing skeleton. They both hit it, and it stumbled back a half step. It hesitated a moment, before stepping forward, it's arms moving in a wide sway, glowing green balls of energy in it's hands. It looked a lot like Himeko or Mei when they cast a spell, Yuzu thought. A moment later it thrust a hand forward, shooting a tiny bit of the green energy across the battlefield. It hit the dagger wielding skeleton, and settled into the centre of it's chest. Vines of green energy sprouted out, coating the skeleton.  
“What is that?” Yuzu asked.  
“I think it's a Warlock.” Himeko answered. “But I don't recognise their spells.” Yuzu nodded, and looked around quickly, scanning the battlefield. Every skeleton posed a threat. But the one with the axe was close to Mei. It could probably charge at her if it wanted. If it fought anything like she did, it'd be a disaster. So Yuzu lowered her head and charged at it, screaming. She swung her axe. It connected with the skeleton's armour, leaving a large dent in it.  
Himeko looked around, a little indecisively, before casting a spell at the original skeleton. The firebolt flew a bit wide however, completely missing her target. The skeleton returned the gesture, tossing it's last three daggers at Mei, Himeko and Nene. The dagger destined for Himeko missed, but the other two found their mark. Mei let out a scream as the dagger hit her.  
“Mei!” Yuzu called, glancing over her shoulder. She couldn't do anything for her, but it was second nature to call to her in moments like this. Mei gave her a small wave, to indicate she wasn't too badly hurt, and Yuzu turned her attention back to her opponent, while Mei cast her healing spells on both herself and Nene.  
Nene pivoted, and fired on the warlock. Her arrow connected, though the shot was a little awkward. It likely wouldn't have hit an actual warrior. The warrior in front of Yuzu swung it's axe, but she deftly hopped back, and it missed. The daggers Harumin had thrown previously re-appeared in her hands, and she looked over at Yuzu.  
“Who should I focus on?” She called.

*****

“Why are you asking me?” Yuzu asked.  
“You're the leader, Yuzucchi. You should be calling the shots in a fight right?” Harumin replied.  
“But I don't understand this game that well...” Yuzu admitted. Staring at the board, she genuinely wasn't sure what should be done. She knew it was her job to protect the others, and Mei had to heal them, but she wasn't too sure what the others were meant to do. And in a situation like this she was even more lost. Most enemies they'd encountered just focused on her, so she didn't have to worry about the others.  
“May I make some suggestions?” Mei asked. Harumin shrugged.  
“Go for it.” She replied.  
“You should probably ignore the Warlock. Himeko could attempt to counter spell him if he was posing a problem to us. You could help Yuzu with her enemy, since you'll do extra damage, or you could attempt to protect us by chasing the pirate with daggers.” Mei explained, pointing to the models as she spoke. Harumin looked at them for a moment.  
“I guess I'll attack the warrior then.” She announced.

*****

One of Harumin's daggers connected, lodging itself between the armour of the skeleton. The warlock cast another spell on the dagger skeleton. This time there was no projectile however. Instead, a dark cloud settled over the skeleon, looming around it's frame. The demon on it's shoulder hopped down, and awkwardly clambered toward the casters of the party.  
Yuzu let out another shout, and swung both of her axes at the skeleton. It blocked her off-hand axe, but the magic one still slipped through it's defences, cutting into bone with a crunch. Himeko gave up on trying to hit her target, instead opting to cast a pair of Scorch spells. The flames burned the skeleton, and it recoiled in pain, before lashing out once more, unleashing it's fan of knives.  
One knife clattered to the ground beside Nene, while the others landed, eliciting screams of pain from both Mei and Himeko. Yuzu grit her teeth. She was going to pound that skeleton into dust when she was done with this one.

*****

“What's up with that skeleton? It's doing so much damage!” Yuzu asked. Matsuri looked at her sheepishly.  
“He keeps rolling critical hits.” She admitted.

*****

Mei cast Greater Heal on herself, before casting a quick plea on Himeko. The fact she needed to use such a strong spell on herself was worrying to Yuzu. Nene loosed another arrow at the dagger-wielding skeleton, causing it to stumble backwards, almost falling over.  
“This one seems weak. We might be able to finish it off!” Nene called. Yuzu opened her mouth to respond. Instead, a scream of pain came out, as the pirate in front of her managed to hit. She'd stopped paying attention for a second to respond to Nene, and that was her reward.  
Harumin hesitated a moment, before taking Nene's advice, throwing her two daggers at her skeletal counterpart. The first one knocked it back to the ground, while the second sunk into bone. The vines of green energy exploded into a fine powder, reaching Nene and Harumin. The two of them coughed loudly.  
“That hurts...” Harumin complained. Mei let out a soft gasp. Yuzu glanced over at her to see that the small demon thing was drawing a blue trail of energy from Mei.  
“Mei!” Yuzu called. Mei waved her down.  
“I'm okay...” She said softly.

*****

“What's it doing to her?” Yuzu asked.  
“It's draining her mana.” Matsuri answered.  
“That doesn't sound good.” Yuzu said.  
“It's not!” Matsuri replied with a grin. Yuzu looked at the battlefield again. Her turn was next, but she couldn't very well run back and deal with it. “You guys should probably deal with that huh?”  
“I'll go stab it.” Harumin said.  
“I'd rather not shoot it. I lose my bonuses if I'm not attacking undead.” Nene announced. Himeko sighed.  
“I guess I can attack it.” She conceded.  
“Anyway! The warlock still has his turn.” Matsuri cut them off.

*****

The Warlock cast again, and this time the dark shadow settled over Yuzu. She grit her teeth. It hurt, but in a weird way. Like it was hurting in her head. Yuzu swung at the warrior in front of her to try and take her mind off of it. Once again, her offhand was easily deflected, but her main axe connected.  
Himeko ran forward, and stopped in front of the demon. She took a deep breath, before leaning forward, and blowing a huge plume of flames out in front of her. When the fire cleared, the demon was nothing but cinders, and the warlock looked quite charred as well.  
“Nice work Himeko!” Nene called.  
“Of course it was!” Himeko replied, as she quickly cast another scorch on the warlock.

*****

“Mei-San, your turn.” Matsuri announced. Mei looked up, a little surprised.  
“Oh, of course. How is everyone looking for health?” She asked.  
“I've lost...55!” Yuzu replied, after a moment of math.  
“I'm down 21.” Himeko declared.  
“I've lost 30.” Nene said. Mei nodded, thinking for a moment.  
“It seems as if they're focusing on Yuzu right now, so I'll cast plea on her once, and then save my mana.” Mei announced. She rolled a 1, and frowned ever so slightly. Yuzu laughed.  
“That's okay! How much do I heal for?”  
“Eight.” Mei answered.  
“Wow. That's a pretty big bonus.” Yuzu remarked. She'd never actually paid much attention to how much Mei's stats added to each heal.  
“Don't act surprised Aihara Yuzu.” Himeko said. “Your bonuses on damage are ridiculous.”  
“So are yours Eyebrow-Chan.” Matsuri teased. “You add what, a +9 to your scorch damage.”  
“I spent a lot of feats to get there!” Himeko protested.  
“And so did Yuzu-Chan.” Matsuri replied, sticking her tongue out at Himeko.  
“Um. Is it my turn?” Nene asked.  
“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Matsuri replied.

*****

Nene fired off an arrow at the skeleton in front of Yuzu. It barely even noticed the arrow, as it swung at Yuzu. It's axe bit into her shoulder, and she let out a loud scream.  
Harumin danced forward, settling into place beside Yuzu before stabbing at the skeleton. Her dagger stuck in the armour, and for a second she fought to get it out, before giving up and letting go. The dagger stayed a moment, before disappearing, re-appearing in Harumin's hand. Yuzu groaned in pain again, as the shadow hovering around her loomed harder. The warlock cast another spell on her, shooting the same small green orb at her that he had the skeleton. It hit her skin, and sunk inside her, before vines sprouted out, wrapping around her. It really hurt.  
Yuzu swung her two axes at the enemy in front of her. She needed to kill him quickly so she could move over to the warlock without exposing herself to danger. This time the skeleton parried the magic axe, and she hit with her original axe.  
“Who should I target?” Himeko shouted.  
“This one!” Yuzu replied. She wasn't sure if that was the right call, but she didn't have time to think about it. Himeko cast another scorch on it, the flames emerging from it's feet and dancing across the skeleton's form.  
Without warning the pain wracking Yuzu's body eased. She glanced down to see a soft glow across her body, and one of her wounds healing quickly.  
“Thanks Mei!” She called over her shoulder. She'd never been more grateful for her sister than that moment. An arrow from Nene whizzed past Yuzu's head. It also whizzed past the skeletons head, and fell into the water beyond.

******

Yuzu and Harumin laughed.  
“That's such a good description!” Yuzu said. Nene smiled.  
“Thank you” She replied.

*****

The skeleton swung at Yuzu again. It's axe caught her in the gut, leaving a pretty big cut, and winding her. Yuzu stumbled back a half step, clutching the wound for a second, before pulling her hand away to check it. It was bleeding badly, but nothing important was hit.

*****

“Does this have to be so graphic?” Himeko complained.  
“She's lost two thirds of her health!” Matsuri exclaimed.  
“She has?” Harumin asked. She leant over to look at Yuzu's sheet. Yuzu nodded.  
“Yeah, I have 140, and I've lost 104.” She replied.  
“Geez Yuzucchi! Why didn't you say something sooner?” Harumin asked.  
“Well...I didn't want to worry everyone, y'know?” Yuzu answered. Harumin sighed.  
“I'm going to stab him twice.” She rolled her dice, and sighed again, louder. “Two misses.”  
“Alright, Yuzu-Chan, you take another 13 from the Warlock. And then another 4.” Matsuri announced. “And now he's going to cast on Mei.”

*****

Mei let out a loud scream. Yuzu glanced over her shoulder. The same dark shadow that hung over her was now hanging over Mei. Yuzu turned her gaze forward again, and with a loud yell she swung at the skeleton once more. This time her attacks completely overwhelmed it's defences, and both axes sunk into bone, forcing it to stumble back a half step.  
Himeko cast a pair of scorches this time, before letting out a loud sigh.  
“I'm almost out of mana!” She called. “I can only do one scorch at a time from now on.”  
“Thanks Himeko! You've done plenty!” Yuzu called back. Once again Yuzu felt herself surge with healing energy, and the wound in her stomach stopped bleeding.  
“I'm almost out too.” Mei announced. Yuzu looked over her shoulder and gave Mei a thumb's up.  
“We've got it from here!” She declared confidently. She wasn't nearly as confident as she was acting. She looked back in time to see Nene's arrow connect. It landed square in the eye socket of the skeleton, sending it's head reeling for a moment. The skeleton lashed out at Yuzu, but it was still disoriented from the blow, and she easily dodged around it.  
Harumin capitalised on the opening, stepping in behind the skeleton and ramming her dagger into it's spine. She tried to get the other one in too, but the armour was a bit too thick at the second point of attack, and her dagger bounced off. Even so, the skeleton let out a horrific scream, the first noise any of them had made so far.  
The victory was short-lived however, as the warlock cast once more, and a shadow settled over Harumin. She grit her teeth and groaned in pain. Mei let out another scream as her shadow flared up, and Yuzu joined her. The vines suddenly burst off her, sending out a fine mist of spores into the air. The spores settled onto Harumin.  
“Geez that hurts.” She complained. Yuzu took a moment, before lashing out at the skeleton again. They needed to finish this now, before things got more out of hand. She attacked with reckless abandon. The skeleton seemed to be expecting such however, as it easily fended off her assault. Between ragged breaths Himeko cast again. She sounded like she was about to pass out. Yuzu couldn't blame her.  
Once again Mei healed Yuzu. It was weak, but it helped. They were almost there, she could feel it. Nene landed another arrow, in the opposite eye socket. In another situation Yuzu might've laughed at how silly it looked, but as it was now, she was far too pre-occupied to be distracted. The skeleton raised it's axe high, and swung it down on Yuzu with powerful intent.

*****

Matsuri leaned over a little to see Yuzu's sheet.  
“I'm going to say that last critical from Nene gives him a -1 to hit, so he misses.” Matsuri announced.  
“Meaning he would've hit?” Harumin asked. Matsuri nodded.  
“Badly too. Taniguchi-Senpai, it's your turn again.”  
“Two stabs.” Harumin announced, rolling her dice. “One miss and...19! That's a critical!” She declared happily.  
“Yes!” Yuzu cheered. Harumin rolled her dice, humming softly.  
“That's...28 damage in total.” She announced. Matsuri nodded.  
“Alright, got it. Back to our Warlock. So...Haunt on each of you...”

*****

The shadow over everyone loomed, drawing cries of pain from it's victims. Yuzu glanced over at the skeleton, to see it glowing green. After a moment the green turned to blue, before casting another spell. This time however, nothing happened.  
“I...think he tried to cast on me.” Nene said softly. “But it's okay! I resisted it!” Yuzu roared once more, swinging at the skeleton in front of her with all her might. Her axe hit it's head, caving it in, and causing the skeleton to slump onto the ground.  
“I did it!” Yuzu shouted triumphantly.  
Himeko didn't waste any time, turning her attention to the warlock and casting on him instead. For hopefully the final time in the fight, Yuzu felt Mei's spell wash over her, and she stumbled a half step forward in relief. She just wanted to sleep already…  
Nene loosed another arrow into the skeleton, causing it to stumble backwards. Harumin followed up, charging at it with a yell, and ramming her dagger into it's chest. The shadow over Yuzu drained more from her, before fading. She looked around, but the shadows over Mei and Harumin remained. The skeleton went to cast a spell, but Harumin rammed her dagger into it again, interrupting the process. Yuzu picked herself up, dropping one axe and with a final yell, charged at it. She swung her remaining axe, cleaving through bone as she connected.  
The skeleton burned once more, as Himeko worked her magic on it. Mei however, focused her efforts on herself and Harumin, healing each of them a little. Nene fired hitting the skeleton's ribs. Harumin laid into the skeleton with both daggers. The skeleton wavered, and for a second it looked like it was defeated. But it regained it's balance, and from the cries of Mei and Harumin, it seemed it's magic was still working. It went to cast, and Harumin and Yuzu together swung at it.  
Harumin's dagger slammed into it's chest again, and it stumbled. Yuzu followed up with a powerful overhead swing, crushing through the skull. The skeleton collapsed, and the magic floating around Mei and Harumin disappeared. Yuzu collapsed to the deck, gasping for breath.  
“I'm so glad that's over.” She announced.  
“Agreed.” Harumin said, as she fell to the floor, and flopped out on her back, catching her breath as well.

Everyone but Nene spent a few minute sitting, or lying around catching their breath. Once she'd recovered enough mana, Mei started healing everyone slowly. She patched up Himeko first, and then Harumin. Once they were fully healed, they joined Nene in hunting around the boat for loot.  
“You had me worried.” Mei said softly, once they were alone.  
“You worried about me?” Yuzu asked, a blush crossing her cheeks.  
“Of course. You could've died there.” Mei answered.  
“But I didn't. Because you saved me.” Yuzu said, looking over her shoulder to smile at Mei. Mei looked down, focusing on the healing she was casting.  
“And what if I wasn't there? Or ran out of mana? I was so tired I couldn't do anything more than cast Plea.” Mei asked.  
“If you weren't there, I wouldn't charge in.” Yuzu answered confidently.  
“Wouldn't you?” Mei asked. Yuzu hesitated, before shaking her head.  
“I wouldn't! I know I did before, but now that I've got you to worry about...I won't!” She declared. Mei sighed softly.  
“Thank you.” She said softly, leaning on Yuzu's back. Yuzu smiled.

*****

Yuzu and Mei walked back into the room. They'd slipped out to avoid overhearing what the others found. With nothing else to do, Mei had suggested playing out the conversation.  
“What did we miss?” Yuzu called.  
“Not much!” Harumin called back. “We found a bunch of loot that we need to split up.”  
“So, what did we find?” Yuzu asked.  
“There's the five magic daggers, which I'm taking. A magic axe which we assume you want. A magic robe, which could be used by either Himeko or Mei, seven magic rings, and a magic amulet.” Harumin listed.  
“None of which we can identify right now.” Himeko added.  
“There's no pirate treasure?” Yuzu asked.  
“There's plenty of that. I was just listing the things we needed to split up.” Harumin answered. “I think there's a few thousand gold worth of stuff.” Yuzu grinned.  
“So we could get some more outposts!” She declared.  
“Or...retire and be rich!” Harumin exclaimed. “Do you have any idea how well we could live with 500 gold each?” Yuzu shook her head.

*****

“...How well could we live with 500 gold?” Harumin asked.  
“That's about what you'd earn in 200 years working as a peasant.” Himeko answered.  
“Oh, cool, thanks!” Harumin replied.  
“So, what are you doing now?” Matsuri asked.  
“How late is it?” Yuzu replied.  
“Almost dinner time.” Nene answered.  
“Huh?” Yuzu looked over at her. She was greeted by darkness from the window. “Oh.”  
“We should probably wrap up here.” Himeko remarked. Yuzu sighed and nodded.  
“Alright.” She replied. She wanted to keep going. But this was the best place to end. She had her answers about the pirates after all. At least, some of them.  
“We'll sort out experience tomorrow!” Matsuri announced. “I'm starving, so I'm gonna go get something to eat. Want to come Taniguchi-Senpai?”  
“I don't have anything better to do.” Harumin replied.  
“Geez, you're so cold. What about you Nene?”  
“Oh, yes please!” Nene answered.  
“What about you VP?” Harumin asked.  
“No thank you.” Himeko responded.  
“Would you like to stay for dinner?” Yuzu offered. “We don't have enough to cook for everyone, but we could have you.” Himeko thought for a moment.  
“Are you cooking?” She asked. Yuzu nodded. “Then I think I'll pass thank you.”  
“Alright!” Yuzu replied. Everyone started packing up, and headed for the door. Yuzu walked over to see them off. “Good night!” She called, waving as they left.

“Did you two have fun with your friends today?” Ume asked as Yuzu sat down with her dinner.  
“Yeah!” Yuzu replied. “We found the pirate's ship, and killed their leaders.”  
“We assume.” Mei corrected her.  
“We do?” Yuzu asked. Mei nodded.  
“We haven't found anything that says they're the leaders. We simply assume such because they were strong, and on the boat.” Mei replied.  
“Well, it sounds like you're all having a wonderful time!” Ume said. Yuzu smiled and nodded.  
“We are!” She answered. The rest of the meal was passed in relative silence, before they finished up, and Mei went to have a bath. Yuzu crashed onto their bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking. Today had been a pretty good day. They'd learned about the world a little bit, and found the pirates. Yuzu wasn't too sure what they should do next. She wanted to have a plan ready for when they started tomorrow though. Maybe they could go and hunt the dinosaur thing they'd found earlier. Finding the pirates was great, but it also was kind of disappointing. They didn't have a mystery to solve anymore. They knew where the pirates came from, and why they were there after all.  
“We don't know why they were there!” Yuzu exclaimed, sitting up suddenly.  
“We don't know why who was there?” Mei asked from the doorway. Yuzu looked over her shoulder to see her sister standing just inside the door.  
“The pirates! We don't know why they were all spread out. Or why they were skeletons.” Yuzu explained.  
“Oh. Of course.” Mei said. “You can find out tomorrow. For now, you should be studying.” Yuzu opened her mouth to protest.  
“You're right.” She groaned. “Will you help me?”  
“I suppose I have time.” Mei replied. Yuzu smiled.  
“Thanks Mei!” She hopped off the bed, and grabbed Mei in a hug. For a second Mei froze, before she relaxed, and returned the hug. The two settled fetched their books, and settled at the table. They spent the next hour going over the things Yuzu struggled with. Mei was as good a teacher as ever, and Yuzu tried extra hard to block out thoughts about the game, and kissing Mei.  
“I think that's enough.” Mei announced finally.  
“Really? I'm free?” Yuzu asked.  
“Don't sound so disappointed.” Mei teased her.  
“Sorry.” Yuzu replied. “Hey, um. I was wondering...what you said earlier...during the game. Was any of that like...about me?” Mei looked at her.  
“All of the feelings I expressed were genuine.” Mei answered. Yuzu's face lit up. “Were I in that position, I would feel that way.” Yuzu paused.  
“Oh. So...you don't worry about me?” Yuzu asked.  
“I don't worry about you dying fighting skeleton pirates, no.” Mei said. “You should go and have a bath.” Yuzu nodded, and climbed to her feet.

Yuzu was halfway undressed when her phone started ringing.  
“Hello?”  
“Yuzucchi!” Harumin called down the phone. “Are you busy?”  
“Not really. I'm just having a bath.” Yuzu answered.  
“Oh, so we can talk?”  
“Can you give me a minute?”  
“Sure.” Yuzu put the phone down, and quickly finished getting undressed, before picking it back up.  
“Alright, thanks sorry. So what's up?”  
“Not much! I just missed you.”  
“What? But we hung out all day.”  
“Yeah, but your sister and the VP were there too. We couldn't just be ourselves y'know?”  
“Oh, yeah I guess. We did spend an hour getting side-tracked though.”  
“The VP was glaring daggers at us the whole time! It was great.” The two of them laughed. “But still, we should hang out tomorrow!”  
“We are hanging out.”  
“I mean after! Let's go out for karaoke, or get dinner or something.”  
“That sounds really good. Alright, let's do it!”  
“Thanks Yuzucchi.”  
“So hey, I was thinking about the pirates, and I realised something.”  
“What's that?”  
“We don't know why they're undead! We found their boat, but there's nothing that says why they're all skeletons.”  
“Huh. You're right.” Harumin hummed for a moment. “Y'know, most of the skeletons seemed to be pretty mindless. Like, they just rushed at you and tried to stab you. But those ones actually seemed smart.”  
“I didn't think about that.” Yuzu leaned back into the bath and groaned. “So we just got more questions instead of answers.” Harumin laughed.  
“Cheer up! It's more mysteries to solve tomorrow.”  
“I guess. I was thinking we were gonna go kill that dinosaur instead.”  
“We could always do both. We have time.”  
“I guess so.” Yuzu replied. They sat in silence for a bit. “I don't think we're gonna finish the game this week.”  
“Why not?”  
“Our characters were going for a year. We've spent like...less than a month of time in game already.”  
“I'm sure there's an ending that happens ages before the year is up.”  
“I guess. Oh well! If not we can just continue playing when I'm done with summer school.”  
“You poor thing. Your summer's going to waste away, and you're spending the only week of it inside playing games.”  
“Mei wouldn't let me go out and have fun anyway. She'd insist I have to study. This way at least I can still spend time with everyone.”  
“Your sister's so bitchy sometimes.”  
“She's just looking out for me. She helped me study tonight, so I can't complain too much.”  
“If you say so.”  
“I do say so. Alright, I'm going to go. I need to actually wash myself.”  
“Go get clean! I'll see you tomorrow!”  
“I will! See you then!”

Yuzu returned to the bedroom to find Mei looking over her character sheet, as well as a small stack of papers.  
“Whatcha looking at Mei?” Yuzu asked, walking up behind her.  
“I'm trying to pick my next spells.” Mei answered. Yuzu glanced at the papers in Mei's hands. It was the full list of priest spells. Beside her was a handwritten sheet of spells, which Yuzu guessed were the spells Mei already had.   
“Okay! I'm not tired yet, so I'm going to study a bit more.” Yuzu announced.  
“I was about to go to bed.” Mei said. Yuzu hesitated, before nodding.  
“Alright, I'll go and study in the living room.” She replied.  
“One second.” Mei said, standing up.  
“What is it?” Mei leaned forward, and gave Yuzu a quick kiss.  
“Just that.” She said, before heading for the bed. Yuzu blushed.  
“Oh...” Yuzu went to say something, but Mei had already climbed into bed, and pulled the covers over herself. “Good night Mei.”  
“Good night Yuzu.” Mei replied. Yuzu grabbed her books, and headed out to the living room to study.


	10. Love Hunters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls pick up where they left the game off yesterday with a little bit of looting, before heading out to deal with an old problem.

Yuzu woke up the next morning sitting at the living room table. She had a blanket draped over her, and a pillow under her head. The book she'd been studying last night was pushed off to the side. Yuzu lifted her head and looked around groggily.  
“Good morning Yuzu.” Ume said. “Up late last night?”  
“Uh...I guess so.” Yuzu replied. She didn't remember falling asleep last night. “Did you put this blanket on me?”  
“Didn't you get it? You were like that when I woke up.” Ume asked. Yuzu shook her head and yawned. Her mother was already in the kitchen getting ready for her day.  
“I don't think so.” Yuzu replied, smiling. Mei must've put the blanket on her sometime while she slept. She climbed to her feet, yawning again, and went to get breakfast. She'd finished cooking by the time Mei came out.  
“Good morning.” Mei said.  
“Good morning!” Yuzu called. “Thanks for putting the blanket on me.”  
“You're welcome.” Mei replied, walking over to the kitchen. She dropped her voice so Ume wouldn't hear her. “I would have woken you, but you looked so peaceful.” She said. Yuzu blushed, and looked away.  
“Do you want breakfast too? I can easily cook a little more for you.” Yuzu asked, trying to change the subject.  
“Yes please.” Mei said, walking back out. “I'll fetch your sheet and things.”  
“Thanks Mei!” Yuzu called.  
“Alright, I'm off to work again.” Ume called out. “You girls have fun!”  
“Bye Mama!” Yuzu called back. She served up the food as Mei came out, and laid down the sheets at their usual spot. The two of them settled at the table, Mei in her spot for the game, with Yuzu beside her, and started to eat in silence. Yuzu glanced over at Mei. She wanted to say something, but she wasn't too sure what.  
“Oh! I'm going to go out to get dinner tonight!” Yuzu announced. Mei looked over at her.  
“Where are you going?” She aksed.  
“I'm not sure yet. But Harumin wanted to hang out, so I told her we could get dinner after the game today.” Yuzu explained. Mei looked at her for a moment.  
“Do what you like. You studied a lot yesterday, I can't hold it against you.” She replied. Yuzu smiled.  
“Thanks Mei! I'll study again when I get home!” Yuzu said. Mei nodded, and the pair fell back into silence.

“So how much experience did we get?” Himeko asked. It wasn't long after they'd finished breakfast that the sisters first guest had arrived, and the others followed quickly after.  
“You got 2000 experience.” Matsuri announced.  
“Is that enough to level up?” Yuzu asked.  
“It's halfway to the next level.” Mei answered.  
“Alright, and who's getting the magical gear you found?” Matsuri asked.  
“What did we have again?”  
“There's a magic robe to give out.” Himeko answered. “Everything else is obvious, or unidentified.”  
“Who needs it more?” Yuzu asked.  
“I have a 13 AC.” Mei declared.  
“I only have 12.” Himeko replied. “But I think Mei needs it more. I move around faster with my class.”  
“Alright! So Mei will get the robe. Did we need to do anything else?” Yuzu asked.  
“I don't think so. Let's get started?” Matsuri declared. Everyone nodded.

*****

The party took an hour to catalogue all of the loot they'd found, and get it all secured in backpacks for travel. The trip back through the ruins took them a while. The extra weight slowed everyone down, and even Yuzu found herself wanting to stop to rest on at least one occasion. They did stop once they got back to the ruins, and then again at the collapsed bridge.  
“Hey.” Harumin called. “How are we getting back up?” Yuzu looked across the room at the way back to their camp. Unlike the far side, there was no pile of rubble to climb up. There was however, a large chunk of rock beside it.  
“I guess we'll climb up on the side. We'll have to pass all the treasure up.” Yuzu declared.  
“Alright, I'll get up there now.” Harumin replied, dropping her bag, and scampering up the rock, and then up onto the bridge. Yuzu followed suit, dropping her bag, before pulling herself up onto the rock.  
“Could the strongest one of you please pass up the bags?” Yuzu asked. Himeko stood up, and grabbed Harumin's bag, and passed it up to Yuzu. She passed up hers, Mei's and Nene's next, before finally getting Mei to come over and help her lift Yuzu's bag up. Once all the bags were up, Yuzu passed them up to Harumin, and finally turned back to help the others up. Once everyone else had been helped up, Yuzu climbed back up herself, and grabbed her bag once more. “Let's get going!” She declared.  
The group walked out into the valley again. The sun was just starting to set, and so they returned to the camp they'd made outside the ruins. Once they were settled in, and food was cooking, Yuzu called a meeting.  
“Okay! So now that we've found the pirate's ship, we've got to work out what we're doing next.” Yuzu declared.  
“Our first priority should be returning to the town.” Mei said. “We've picked up a lot of loot, and we could establish a second forward base.”  
“Isn't the point of a forward base so we don't have to go back every time?” Harumin asked. “Wouldn't it be a better idea to go back to our cabin and poke around the area a bit from there?”  
“That's Yuzu's call to make.” Mei replied. “I'm simply making suggestions.” Harumin rolled her eyes.  
“Even if we stop at the cabin, we should send someone back to find out if we're needed.” Himeko suggested. “Our job is to protect them after all.” Yuzu nodded.  
“Nene? What do you think?” She asked.  
“I think we should kill the monster that lives around the pillars.” Nene said. “I don't think there'd be more of them around here, and it should be the only threat here. So if we hunt it, we could build a second forward base out here in the valley, and let us go further.”  
“Alright.” Yuzu leaned back, thinking over the situation. “Are we thinking of going anywhere else after we go back to the village?” She looked around. Everyone else looked around between each other, shaking their heads a little.  
“Doesn't seem like it.” Harumin said.  
“In that case, I guess we'll do what Himeko suggests.” Yuzu announced.  
“Thank you.” Himeko replied. The conversation died down for a while. Yuzu leaned back, and frowned a little.  
“Is something bothering you Yuzu?” Mei asked her.  
“Just thinking about the pirates.” She answered. “How'd they become skeletons? Why were the last ones we fought intelligent, but the rest weren't?” Mei stood up, and walked over to sit next to her.  
“We'll have to go and find out.” She said. “In the meantime, all we can do is what we've been doing.”

*****

Yuzu blushed a little at the special words slipped into such a normal situation. The way Mei didn't bat an eyelid at it was impressive, though her gaze lingered a second longer than normal, and there was a clear bit of meaning in them.

*****

“Right. Tomorrow we'll go back home. Nene can run back to the village, and then we'll prepare to head out and kill the monster out there. Which means it'll be...four days, until we go hunting.” Yuzu announced the plan, counting out the days on her fingers. “Sound good?”  
“Sounds good to me!” Harumin replied.  
“Then, let's get some rest, I suppose.”

The group got a good night's rest. In the morning they packed up their camp, and headed back up the cliff, and through the pillars. They made it back to the cabin an hour after sunset. They'd talked about making camp as the sun was approaching the horizon, but ultimately decided to finish the trip in the dark. Once in the cabin, they lit up the various candles around the room, and looked around. It was a nice place, with a main room and four bedrooms, each with a large bed. The main room had a small lounging area, a kitchen and a dining table. It wasn't luxurious by any means, but it was comfortable enough Yuzu wouldn't complain about spending a few weeks living there. Once they'd explored, they stored the treasure in the bedrooms, and all went to bed.  
“The sisters are sharing a bed again right?” Harumin asked.  
“I assumed such yes.” Mei replied.  
“Alright! Night everyone!” Harumin called, heading into bed.  
“Night!” Yuzu called back. She walked into the bedroom and striped down out of her armour, dropping her weapons by the door, before climbing into bed and passing out instantly.

The next morning they awoke early, and had breakfast together.  
“So, Nene is going back to the village to check if we're needed today, right?” Harumin asked as they ate.  
“That's what we said yeah.” Yuzu replied. “If you're still okay with that Nene?”  
“That's fine! I'll stay the night there and come back tomorrow morning.” Nene said. It sounded like half a question. Yuzu nodded.  
“Sounds good. We'll just wait here I suppose.” She said. They finished eating, and Nene headed out. The others spread out to kill time. Mei and Himeko got together and discussed magic theory, as well as practising their spellcasting, while Yuzu and Harumin sparred. It wasn't a particularly fair fight, as Yuzu ran over Harumin repeatedly, but they at least had a good time. They continued practising for several hours, before collectively deciding to relax. The day passed slowly, but soon enough it was over. The next day passed even slower, until finally Nene returned.  
“Nene!” Yuzu called out, waving as she saw the hunter crest the ridge leading up to the cabin. Nene looked up, and smiled, waving back a little timidly.  
“So? What's the news?” Harumin asked as Nene approached. The two of them were sat on the porch, watching the sunset while they waited for Nene's return.  
“We're not needed yet. But they did ask us to come back soon. Matsuri said they're doing some logging by the ruins we cleared next week, and they'd like us around in case they turn something up.”  
“So we've got a week to hunt the monster.” Yuzu groaned, flopping back into the chair.  
“What's got you down Yuzucchi?” Harumin asked.  
“I just don't know if a week is long enough. We don't know how to find it after all.”  
“I can take a good stab at tracking it.” Nene offered. “I'm sure we can find it in time.” Yuzu looked up and nodded.  
“You're right! We've just gotta stay positive!” The three girls headed inside, and explained the situation to Himeko and Mei. Once they'd laid out the situation, and all agreed they'd start hunting tomorrow, they made dinner, ate, and went to sleep.

“Okay! Let's get going!” Yuzu declared, thrusting her fist into the air. They'd woken up early, and had a big breakfast.  
“Hang on, I forgot something.” Harumin said. She turned towards her room and held out her hand. The fan of daggers appeared in her hand, and she quickly sheathed them.  
“You didn't forget anything. You just wanted to show off.” Himeko complained. Harumin smiled at her and shrugged.  
“You can't prove that.” She replied. Himeko rolled her eyes.  
“Yes, let's go.” She agreed. The group made their way down the mountain, and out into the pillars. They walked in a rough diamond shape, with Himeko leading, and Mei in the middle. Yuzu brought up the rear, while Nene and Harumin walked either side. It had been Mei's suggestion to walk like that. The theory was that the monster would be looking to ambush them. In which case, the least likely person to be knocked out should be at the rear, while the most vulnerable person walked in the middle to prevent them being targeted. Being the healer, it was unanimously agreed that Mei would get the centre position.  
Up front Himeko was being aggressive with her wand, blasting small bursts of fire at the undergrowth to clear her path. Yuzu was surprised none of it had caught fire yet. She considered telling Himeko off, but she didn't really have any other way to clear the undergrowth, and she'd insisted it was safe. They walked like this for several hours, stopping occasionally to listen for a lead. For a while the jungle was loud, filled with chirping birds. The occasional animal skipped past, heading off on it's way to find more food. Finally, around midday, the jungle went quiet.  
“Something's nearby.” Nene said softly.  
“Should we keep moving? Or stop and be ready?” Yuzu asked. They hadn't stopped yet, and none of them looked at each other as they talked.  
“That would likely just scare it off. It's looking for an ambush.” Mei replied.  
“Alright, so let's just keep walking I suppose.” Yuzu conceded. They walked in tense silence for a minute. Behind her Yuzu could hear the gentle creak of the wood in the trees. Normally she wouldn't notice it, but knowing what was lurking there, every little sound stood out. Suddenly there was a loud cracking of wood from behind her. Yuzu spun, and took a few steps back as the massive form of the monster flew threw the air. It landed in front of her, it's front claws digging into the ground where she had been moments before. It righted itself, and roared in Yuzu's face.

*****

“Will save please Yuzu!” Matsuri asked.   
“Uh, 12...plus 6. So 18.” Yuzu replied. Matsuri glanced down, before nodding.  
“That's a pass! Initiative time!” Yuzu snatched her dice back up, while everyone else rolled theirs. They'd been waiting for this for a few minutes now.

*****

Nene reacted first, pulling back an arrow and loosing it at the monster. Her haste didn't translate into success however, as her arrow soared wide of it's target. Yuzu roared in rage, and swung her two axes at the monster's face. The two axes bit into it's nose, and it stumbled back a step, snorting loudly and shaking it's head.  
“Hey! That's supposed to hurt!” Yuzu shouted at it. The monster took a half step forward, and tried to bite her. It swung a bit high however, and it's teeth snapped shut on the air above Yuzu. It kept moving forward however, clawing at her twice. Yuzu cried out in pain. The claws stung.

*****

Mei looked at Yuzu with a strange look. She wasn't exactly smiling, but she had that look in her eye that she got when Yuzu did something that amused her. Yuzu grinned at her. The game was fun, but the little moments like this, they were the real reason she liked playing. That and being able to mess around with Harumin.

*****

Mei cast two quick pleas. Yuzu's cuts glowed, and grew far shallower. It wasn't enough to completely heal her by any means, but it really took the edge off the pain. Himeko cast a spell, and flames exploded out of the flesh of the monster. It roared in pain, and stumbled about a little in confusion. Yuzu almost felt bad for it. Harumin charged forward with a loud yell, and stabbed her dagger into the monster.

*****

“Aren't you supposed to be stealthy?” Himeko asked.  
“I'm supposed to be sneaky. And the sneakiest thing is to do what they least expect. Like charging them with a war cry.” Harumin answered. Yuzu and Nene chuckled softly.

*****

Nene ran out to the side of the battle and fired again. This time her arrow hit the monster's neck, where it got stuck. Yuzu laid into the monster's nose again. Her first axe sunk into the flesh, but the other one bounced off harmlessly. The bounce seemed to be more of an inconvenience to the monster, as it shook it's head a little and snorted loudly. For a second, Yuzu thought she'd succeeded in inconveniencing it. Then it lunged forward, and the snort became apparent as a bluff. It's mouth wrapped around Yuzu's waist, it's teeth sinking into flesh as it lifted her into the air and bit down. Yuzu screamed out in pain.  
“Yuzu!” Mei called out. She sounded concerned, and for a split second Yuzu's heart fluttered before the reality of the situation dragged her back down. Mei quickly cast another two pleas. They helped, but with the teeth still inside her, Yuzu's pain didn't exactly stop. Himeko cast a pair of spells. The way the flames played across the bits of the monster Yuzu could see, she recognised one of them as scorch. The other however she couldn't see the effect of.

*****

“So, I summon the ball here, and the move it here.” Himeko said, placing a large, red cotton ball on the battlefield. She pushed it up to sit next to the plastic t-rex that represented the monster.  
“What is it?” Yuzu asked.  
“It's a flaming sphere. It can move around the battlefield and deal damage to things it collides with.” Himeko explained. “It's not as much damage as just casting firebolt this turn, but it lets me cast firebolt every other turn while still doing bonus damage.”  
“So how much damage did you do?” Harumin asked.  
“12 with the sphere and...19 with the scorch.” Himeko declared.  
“Geez, way to go VP.” Harumin replied. “Now it's my turn?”  
“Yup, your turn Taniguchi-Senpai.”  
“I'll stab it twice.” Harumin rolled. “Only one hit, so...19 damage.”  
“Back to Nene then!” Matsuri announced.  
“I'll shoot it again.” Nene replied quickly. She took a second to roll all her dice. “15.” Himeko grinned, looking very smug. With how much she complained about other people's damage, Yuzu guessed she was quite proud to be doing the most damage right now.  
“Yuzu-Chan, your turn. You're grappled, so you can't hit it.”  
“Can't I? Not even with one of the axes? My arms are free aren't they?” Yuzu asked. Matsuri hummed, and looked down at the sheet. Finally she nodded.  
“You're right! This one uses different rules. You can attack.” She said.

*****

Yuzu twisted in the monster's teeth, and swung her axe at it. From this angle she could only get one axe up, but it was enough. She slammed it into the monster's face, digging into the flesh above it's lip. Suddenly she was lifted, and thrown, up into the air. The monster caught her on the way back down, crunching down hard. Yuzu screamed in pain. She could feel something broken inside her. The monster dropped it's head, spitting her onto the ground, where she flopped pathetically.

*****

“So, you're crippled. You can only move at half speed, and your attacks are made with a -4 penalty.” Matsuri explained.  
“That's so unfair!” Yuzu protested.  
“That's why you get a save against it. But you only rolled a 6.” Matsuri replied. Yuzu folded her arms and huffed. On top of being crippled, she'd lost almost half her health in a single attack. “Mei-San, it's your turn.” Mei looked down at her sheet.  
“How is crippled removed?” She asked. “It's a status effect, correct?”  
“It is. It's removed with a heal check, but that takes a minute, or restoring Yuzu's health to full.”  
“How much health are you missing Yuzu?” Mei asked.  
“Oh, um, 77.” Yuzu answered. Mei looked back down at her sheet, deep in thought.  
“I'll cast Greater Heal, and then Plea.” She declared after a moment's thought. She grabbed her dice and rolled them. “Yuzu, you heal for 38 damage.” Yuzu smiled.  
“Thanks Mei!” She replied. That put her almost halfway to being fully healed.

*****

Now that she was on the ground Yuzu could see the large ball of fire. It rolled back a bit, before crashing into the side of the monster. It stumbled and roared at the ball. Himeko fired off a firebolt, before quickly casting scorch as well. The monster roared again as the flames played across it's body.

*****

“How much was that?” Himeko asked.  
“56.” Matsuri answered. Himeko sat back, and smiled smugly.  
“Nice work Himeko!” Yuzu exclaimed.  
“Of course. That's what happens when you know how to play your character.” She replied.

*****

Harumin took a few stabs at the monster, sinking both daggers into the it's leg. The monster let out a loud, angry roar, and staggered a half step away from her. Nene fired off another arrow, landing it next to one of it's eyes. The arrow drew Yuzu's attention to another arrow, still sticking from the monster's eye. She climbed to her feet with some effort, dropping one axe and swung the other at the monster. To her surprise, despite the sluggish movements, she managed to smash her axe into the monster's side.  
The monster attacked Harumin this time, swiping her with a claw, before sinking it's teeth into her. It hoisted her up into the air in it's mouth, while Harumin screamed in pain. Mei moved to cast, before hesitating a second, looking between Yuzu and Harumin. Her hesitation last only a second, as she cast another Greater Heal on Yuzu. She could feel her wounds fixing, until all that was left was the pain in her back. She glanced down to see that all of her cuts and scrapes had been healed.

*****

“I'm missing one HP.” Yuzu groaned. Harumin reached over and patted her on the head.  
“There there Yuzucchi. I'm sure your sister will heal you.” She replied. Yuzu looked over at Mei. Mei looked away.  
“I'll cast Plea on Harumin.” She announced. Yuzu stared at her with a look of betrayal.  
“Huh? Oh, thanks.” Harumin said, noting the heal down.  
“Why are you healing her?” Yuzu asked.  
“I think the monster is about to do the same thing to her that it did to you, and I don't want her to die. She's much less durable than you are.” Mei explained. Yuzu thought for a moment, before nodding.  
“Alright!” She replied.

*****

Himeko guided her ball back into the monster, before casting the same combo of spells on it. By the looks of things, it was taking a toll on both her, and the monster, as Himeko's movements started to slow down. Harumin, stuck up in the air, did the only thing she could. She stabbed a dagger into the monster's lower lip. The dagger barely pierced the skin however, as it hit bone with a dull thud. Nene fired at it again, and missed, while Yuzu took another big swing. Her axe hit, sinking deep into the flesh, and getting an angry grunt in response. It wasn't enough to free Harumin however, and she was thrown up into the air, much like Yuzu was, before being caught, and dropped with a sickening crunch. Harumin screamed in pain as she landed hard on her back, and writhed on the ground. Yuzu grimaced. It was an ugly sight. But she was alive, at least. Mei cast two more pleas, one on Yuzu, and the other on Harumin. The last of the pain drained from Yuzu's body, and she found it comfortable to stand up properly once more.  
Himeko once again cast her spells, though with her hands trembling, she missed with the firebolt, sending it hurtling off into the tree line. The flames dancing over the monster faded, as her Combustion spell came to an end. Harumin didn't even try and get up. She just lay on the ground, groaning in pain. Nene fired another arrow at the monster, catching it in the side. She must've hit something important, as it stumbled backwards, loosing it's proper footing. Yuzu roared, and stepped forward, lifting her axe high over her head before slamming it into the neck of the already staggered monster. The axe cleaved into the monster, cutting through what Yuzu assumed was important chunks of it. It collapsed onto it's side, letting out a deathrattle, before finally dying.  
“We did it!” Yuzu let out a half hearted cheer. “Mei, can you look at healing Harumin?”  
“Of course.” Mei replied, hurrying over to Harumin. As she passed, Yuzu noticed she was trembling too. She dropped to her knees next to Harumin and began casting, though somewhat slower than usual. She spent about half a minute casting again and again, as the groans from Harumin slowly got quieter and quieter. Finally she relaxed, and let out a loud sigh.  
“Thanks...” She said softly. Mei smiled, and collapsed back onto her heels, letting out a loud sigh.  
“Are you okay Mei?” Yuzu asked, stepping forward and placing a hand on her back. Mei nodded.  
“I just need a minute to recover. I spent all of my mana in that fight, and healing Harumin took whatever else was left.” She explained.  
“Do you want me to carry you back?” Yuzu offered.

*****

Across the table, Mei glanced away from Yuzu. “That won't be necessary.” She replied.  
“Hey Yuzucchi. Will you carry me back?” Harumin asked. Yuzu smiled.  
“Sure thing!” She answered.

*****

The group took a little while to rest. They set up a small camp, and cooked a meal, before heading back to the cabin, Harumin mounted on Yuzu's back, to prepare for their next move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear Saburouta has it out for me. Just a day or two after I announce I'll be picking up the pace to get to the next volume that's post-canon, the announcement of Citrus Plus comes. That doesn't mean I'm intending to not pick up the pace, but it does mean that until Plus starts, and I know when it's set I'm not going to be writing the next volume. Which I guess means I have a new goal of finishing around winter-ish. Will I make that goal? Who knows. Not me.
> 
> Anyway, feedback is welcome because I feel like this chapter was weak. I'm trying to work on improving my characterization a bit going forward, and spending a bit of time working out how they all act. I don't think I'll get it down before Volume 1 is over, but that's okay. If I'm being honest, volume 1 was mostly just meant as a bit of a warm up anyway.


	11. The Tree of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group returns to the village to help them with their immediate needs, before heading out to the giant tree in the swamp, where they start to find answers, and a lot more questions.

“We should go back out and see what we can find.” Yuzu suggested as they started on dinner. After they'd gotten back most of the group had napped. Now they were up and eating it was the perfect time to build up a plan for the next few days.  
“I think it would be better if we returned to town.” Mei said.  
“I agree with Mei.” Himeko replied.  
“Well I agree with Yuzu. We should take the opportunity that kill gave us to look around a bit more.” Harumin argued.  
“How long until they wanted us back Nene?” Mei asked, looking over at her. Nene shrunk back slightly under the intensity of Mei's look.  
“They said next week, but that was two days ago.” Nene answered. Mei nodded.  
“With walking back it will be three days. And we don't have a calendar to track where in the week we are. We don't want to hold them up because we didn't know the date.” She explained. Yuzu thought for a moment, before sighing and nodding.  
“You're right Mei.” She admitted. “We'll go back tomorrow. Or maybe the day after.”  
“Why wait?” Mei asked. Yuzu shrugged.  
“We've got a year to get everything done. I want to make sure I have fun with everyone while we're here too!” She replied. Mei stared at her for a moment, before sighing.  
“I guess if that's how you feel then it can't be helped.” She said.  
“If we're bored tomorrow we can head back.” Yuzu offered. Mei nodded. The group finished eating, and spread out around the room. Nene lit a fire in the small fireplace by the lounging area, and they gathered around their, reading, or talking quietly about idle matters. After a few hours Yuzu found herself yawning, and went to bed. She was joined moments later by Mei, and the two passed out quickly.

Yuzu awoke to the sound of rain drumming on the roof. She slipped out of bed to avoid disturbing Mei, and made her way out onto the porch. Nene was sitting there, staring out at the rain.  
“I guess we're not going back today.” Yuzu remarked. The rain was heavy enough that it flowed down the mountain several inches deep. It didn't look safe to try and get down, and Yuzu didn't want to deal with the mud. The air was bitter cold too, which just killed her desire even more.  
“I guess not.” Nene replied, smiling at her. Yuzu walked over and sat beside Nene. “Did the rain wake you up too?”  
“A little.” Yuzu answered. The two sat in silence for a little while.  
“Thank you for letting me come with you.” Nene said finally.  
“Huh? What do you mean?” Yuzu asked.  
“I mean, thank you for letting me join you on this adventure.” Nene replied. “I...I never had friends like this before. And I appreciate being involved.” Yuzu grinned at her.  
“Thank you for asking! We'd be in a lot of trouble without you!” She said. Nene blushed, and looked away. “Why did you ask to join anyway? I don't think you ever told us.” Nene looked thoughtful for a moment.  
“Oh, that's right. You weren't around when I talked with Mei.” Nene said after a moment. “I um...I asked because I saw you fight at a fair. I wanted to be brave and strong like you. Then I heard you'd run away so...I decided to follow you.”  
“Wow. That must've taken a lot of courage. I couldn't imagine running away like that.” Yuzu laughed. Nene looked over at her confused.  
“What? But you ran away from the warband!” She protested.  
“Well yeah. But I had Mei with me. I was running away to spend time with my sister. You ran away from home to find someone you didn't even know. That's super brave.” Yuzu explained. Nene smiled.  
“You think so?” She asked. Yuzu nodded. “Thank you!”  
“What are you two talking about?” Himeko's voice interrupted. Yuzu looked over to see her standing at the door.  
“Nene was just telling me about why she joined us.” Yuzu explained.  
“I see.” Himeko replied, as she walked out, and sat on one of the chairs behind them. “It's not going to be fun walking in that.”  
“I'm not sure we're walking back today.” Yuzu replied. Himeko sighed.  
“I guess I can't argue with that.” She said. Yuzu turned and looked at her.  
“Hey, you studied to be a mage, right?” She asked.  
“Of course I did! I was one of the best in my class too.” Himeko replied with no lack of pride. Yuzu smiled.  
“Where did you study?” She asked.  
“In the flying city of Glemescal.” Himeko said. Yuzu thought for a moment. She hadn't heard of any flying city.  
“Does it actually fly?” She asked. Himeko looked at her incredulously.  
“Of course it actually flies! They wouldn't call it a flying city if it didn't!”  
“Then how do you get there?”  
“You have to use a portal. So only mages can get up there.” Himeko answered.  
“What was it like learning magic there?” Nene asked.  
“It was incredible! Almost everything there was enchanted! It was like I was living in another world. I was so disappointed when I got back.” Himeko replied.  
“Really? What would this house be like if it was there?” Yuzu asked.  
“We wouldn't need to light candles. They have magic orbs that float and glow in your houses. There would be a magical fire in the fireplace which you light with a word.” Himeko began. “The kitchen would do a lot of the jobs by itself, so you just place things to be cut, and a knife does all the work, and there'd never be a speck of dust on the floor.”  
“That sounds amazing!” Yuzu replied. Himeko nodded.  
“It was. When I'm done here I want to go back and keep studying. I'd like to become an instructor there.” Himeko explained.  
“I'm sure you can do it! Though you might want to work on your attitude a little bit...” Yuzu replied.  
“What's that supposed to me?” Himeko demanded.  
“You're just a bit...difficult...sometimes.” Yuzu answered. Himeko glared at her. “A-anyway! I'm going to go make breakfast!” Yuzu declared, as she climbed to her feet and scurried inside to cook.

While she cooked, the rain passed, and by the time Mei and Harumin had awoken, it had cleared up enough for them to make the trip back. They ate breakfast, and with some reluctance from Yuzu, packed up and made their way back to the village. It took the majority of the day to get back. They got in, and had dinner in the inn, before heading upstairs and crashing for the night. The next morning they passed off their treasure to Matsuri, who promised to look after it and handle their needs with it. Anything left over when they were done she'd return to them to take home and sell there. With that done, they headed out to where the logging camp was being established. The next week was spent camping out there, just watching the proceedings. Nene occasionally went out to scout, and reported back that they could make it down to the swamp in about a day. They discussed it at length, and universally agreed once the logging was done, they'd venture out into the swamp and have a look around for any other potential threats. After sitting idle for so long, none of them wanted anything more than to get back out into the field. A little over a week after they started, the townsfolk declared they had enough logging, and returned home, leaving the girls free to go out and quest.

*****

“Thank you for not making us play that out.” Harumin said. Matsuri gave her a sly grin.  
“Taniguchi-Senpai, I'm shocked you would think I'd do something so cruel.” She said. Harumin rolled her eyes.  
“Uh huh. Sure you are.” She said. “So now we're heading out to the swamp?”  
“Unless someone has a better idea?” Yuzu asked, looking around. Everyone shook their head.  
“I think we should aim for the big tree in the middle.” Nene suggested.  
“Alright, the big tree it is!” Yuzu declared.

*****

The group headed out for the swamp. Nene lead the way through the path she'd cut before, and so by the end of the day they were sitting on the edge of the swamp. They camped there for the night and headed out into the swamp the next day. Once in the swamp, the tree came into view. Yuzu came to a stop, and stared up at it.  
“Woah...” She said softly.  
“What are you looking at?” Harumin asked. Yuzu pointed up, and Harumin came to a stop, craning her neck back to see the top of the tree. “Geez...”  
“That can't be natural...” Himeko said from beside them.  
“Do you know what might've caused it?” Yuzu asked, looking over at Himeko. Himeko shook her head.  
“It could be fel but I don't see any other signs of it's influence.” She replied.  
“What's fel?” Yuzu asked.  
“Evil magic.” Mei responded quickly. Himeko looked about to argue for a moment, before shutting her mouth. “But this doesn't seem related to fel magic. Perhaps it's a spirit thing.”  
“Well whatever it is, I hope we find something cool there.” Harumin declared. “Nene, which way are we going?”  
“I think this way looks safe.” Nene replied, pointing down a path into the swamp.  
“Let's get going.” Yuzu said, and the group sat off in silence. Navigating the swamp was slow and painful. There was a lot of backtracking as they'd walk in one direction for a while, before finding the dry paths coming to an end, and the water around them being too deep to comfortably cross. With the amount of gear they were carrying, swimming across any part wasn't safe, and Nene didn't want to risk wetting her bowstrings if she could help it. So they spent the majority of the time on the muddy land, weaving a slow path across the swamp. They marked the path as best they could, carving signs into the trees they passed, though sometimes there was no tree to carve on, and they just had to hope they'd remember the way. As the sun was approaching setting, they turned around and ventured back for half an hour to get to the last dry spot they'd left, and camped for the night there. The tree loomed above them, it's branches stretching out over their heads. Despite that, they weren't even halfway to it. At the pace they were going it'd take them three days to reach it, and two days to go back.

*****

“Alright, so you camp the night, and get moving the next day. You travel until about noon, the swamp slowly getting louder the deeper you go. Sometimes you hear things moving in the water, but you never catch a glimpse of it. You reach a large area, and pause for a short break. Once you start moving however, something jumps out of the water at...Harumin.” Matsuri narrated, rolling a dice before announcing the target. “Roll initiative!”

*****

Harumin screamed. Yuzu whipped around to see what had happened. A large crocodile was clamped to her leg. For a second, the world was frozen. Then Harumin was whisked off her feet, and into the water. Yuzu drew her axes, and let out a mighty roar, before charging, and jumping into the water after her. She easily found the crocodile that had dragged Harumin into the water, and slammed her axes into it's head. The axes sunk in deep, and spurts of blood splashed out onto Yuzu's face.

*****

“That's disgusting. Why would you mention that?” Himeko complained. Yuzu nodded.  
“Yeah.” She agreed. Matsuri sighed.  
“You can wash it off in the water! Besides, you're in a battle rage! You should like it Yuzu-Chan.” Matsuri argued. “Anyway, it's your turn Eyebrow-Chan.” Himeko huffed.  
“Can we see any others around here?” She asked.  
“There's other things in the water, but you don't know what they all are.”  
“I'll hold my turn.” Himeko declared.

*****

Mei immediately began to cast, and Harumin let out a relieved sigh.  
“Thanks.” She called out, with no lack of contempt.  
“You're welcome.” Mei responded tersely. Nene fired an arrow at the crocodile. It flew wide, and splashed into the water beside it. This seemed to attract the attention of several other crocodiles, which closed in on Harumin. Three more circled her, each coming in to take a bite out of her. Harumin cried out in pain as the crocodiles tore into her. From the other side five more crocodiles emerged from the water, closing in on Mei and Himeko. Himeko spun on the spot, and took a deep breath. She leaned forward and breathed out, spewing flames across the crocodiles that were advancing on them.

*****

“Alright Taniguchi-Senpai, it's your turn.” Matsuri announced.  
“Can I stab the crocodile that's biting me?”  
“I'm afraid not. You're grappled.” Harumin sighed.  
“Alright, I'll try and escape.” She announced, rolling a dice. She groaned. “I got 6.”  
“He got 18. Sorry Taniguchi-Senpai, you're stuck there.” Matsuri declared.

*****

Yuzu laid into the crocodile again with both axes. One of them bounced off, but the other stuck deep in the crocodile. It went limp, it's grip on Harumin releasing. Harumin floundered for a second, before coming back up to the surface. Behind them, Himeko took another deep breath, and let out another huge plume of flames. This time the crocodiles stopped moving as the flames faded. Himeko dropped to her knees, gasping for breath.  
“I'm spent...” She declared wearily.  
“Thank you Himeko.” Mei said. Himeko smiled at her. Mei cast another two healing spells on Harumin, who let out a relieved sigh. Nene fired again. Her arrow hit the water beside another crocodile. The three remaining crocodiles pounced on Harumin again, tearing into her. One of them managed to get a firm grip on her, and pull her under again.

*****

Harumin sighed loudly as her dice came up 5. “Don't even tell me what it got.” She said.

*****

Yuzu moved on to the next crocodile, swinging her axes at it. But waist deep in water, her movements were sluggish, and she missed, slapping her weapons into the water instead. Mei kept casting on Harumin, trying to prevent the crocodiles from tearing her to shreds. Without her, they probably already would have already. Nene tried to fire one more time. She missed again. The crocodiles also tried to take more chunks out of Harumin, but her armour was a little too tough this time, and none of them managed to get through it.

*****

“Why did we even have that round?” Harumin asked, as she stared at the 19 sitting in front of Matsuri. Her 15 had looked so promising until that happened.  
“So I could recover mana.” Himeko replied.  
“And I could heal you.” Mei offered. Harumin sighed, and nodded.  
“I guess.”

*****

Yuzu swung again, slamming both axes into the crocodile. The damage was enough to snap the crocodile's back, killing it instantly. Himeko climbed back to her feet, and managed to cast a single spell. Flames danced over the exposed section of the crocodile that had grabbed Harumin. Mei continued healing, leaving Harumin almost fully recovered, while Nene tried to finally land an arrow. This time she did, hitting the crocodile that had Harumin in it's jaws. It let go with a pained grunt, and Harumin righted herself. The two crocodiles tried to grab Harumin again, and while one got a bite in, she managed to slip free this time.

*****

“So now I can stab it?” Harumin asked. Matsuri nodded.  
“Now you can stab it.” She replied. Harumin rolled her dice, and grinned.  
“Does a 16 hit?” She asked. Matsuri shook her head.  
“Not quite.”  
“How about a 21?”  
“That hits.”  
“One hit then!” She rolled her dice, and quickly did a little math. “For 17 damage.”  
“That kills it.” Matsuri announced, leaning over and picking up one of the tokens that indicated one of the crocodiles. “So now there's just one left.”  
“I'll try and kill it!” Yuzu declared. She rolled the dice. “9 and 3...which makes a...22 and a 16. So one hit.” She rolled again. “For 21 damage!”  
“This is ridiculous. I'll cast another scorch.” Himeko said.  
“You're one to complain VP. You killed 5 crocodiles in two turns.” Harumin replied.  
“I had to spend all my mana on that!” Himeko protested.  
“But you're still casting.” Harumin teased.  
“Just my weakest spell. And it's preventing me from gaining any mana.” Himeko argued. “Anyway, I dealt 10 damage.”  
“Alright, Mei-San.”  
“I'll just heal Harumi.” Mei replied. “And then cast a smiting plea on the last crocodile. I deal 4 damage.” Matsuri looked down, and smirked.  
“You killed it Mei-San.” She declared.  
“Good job Mei!” Yuzu said. Mei nodded shortly.  
“No one else needed healing, and I had the mana to spare.” She said simply.  
“So, how much experience did we get?” Harumin asked.  
“Let me see...” Matsuri said, picking up a sheet. “We didn't do the monster, which was worth 1500, and these crocodiles are worth another 600, which puts you up another level. But since we're not doing another fight before you reach the tree, how about we do level ups with lunch?”  
“Do you just plan experience around meals or something?” Harumin asked. Matsuri just smiled.  
“Anyway, you're moving on right?” She asked.  
“Yeah!” Yuzu replied.

*****

The group carried on through the swamp. While the struggle itself didn't get any easier, they got faster at moving, and by night fall they were closer to the tree than expected. They camped the next night, before continuing on towards the tree. By mid-afternoon they arrived at a massive root of the tree, sticking into the ground. There was a set of grooves carved into the side, that looked like a ladder.  
“That's suspicious.” Harumin remarked.  
“What's suspicious?” Himeko asked, pushing forward to see. Harumin gestured to the ladder. “It could just be a sign that the pirates came here and tried to climb it.”  
“Wouldn't the tree have grown back by now?” Nene asked. Himeko shrugged.  
“It's a giant magic tree. Who knows what rules it follows.” She replied.  
“I guess that's true.” Nene conceded. Harumin looked at Yuzu.  
“What are we doing?” She asked. Yuzu chewed her lip for a moment, thinking.  
“What do you think Mei?”  
“There's nothing to indicate that whatever made these is a threat. It would be a shame to turn around without finding anything.” Mei replied. Yuzu nodded.  
“You're right. Let's go up it.” She declared. She climbed up the ladder. At the top she found the root was flat, with a clearly marked walkway up towards the tree. She waited to help the others up, before setting off up the root. They walked for an hour, sometimes having to climb stairs, or ladders, to get up the root, before finally they reached the base of the tree. There they found a hollowed out section, and a large, intricately decorated wooden carriage-like structure.  
“I guess we get in...” Yuzu remarked. “I don't see how it goes anywhere though.” The carriage didn't have any ropes on the top.  
“It's enchanted.” Himeko explained. “We had things like it back home.”  
“Oh. That's cool. I wonder who made it.” Yuzu replied, as they walked in. Once they were all in, Himeko tapped her foot twice in the middle, and the carriage started to slowly glide up the tree. For a long while they waited, with no indication of how far up they were inside the tree. Then the carriage reached the top, and came to a stop, revealing they were now among the leaves of the tree.  
“Woah...” Nene breathed, as she stared out across the swamp. Yuzu followed her gaze, and gasped. This high up they cold see the whole swamp, as well as up the side of the mountain. The tree wasn't quite as tall as the mountain, and a large outcrop from it obscured the view of the village.  
“This is incredible...” Yuzu remarked.  
“Yuzu.” Mei said softly. Yuzu turned to look at her. Mei nodded towards the tree, and Yuzu looked over. There was a plank pathway extending out from the carriage, towards a small hut sitting in the trees. The pathway was lined with paper lanterns of all sorts of colours. A delicious smell wafted from the hut, and a soft voice followed it, singing gently. Yuzu reached down, and gripped an axe, before advancing towards it.  
“Hello!” She called out. The singing came to an abrupt stop, and a moment later a blue, horned face poked out of a window. It took Yuzu a second to process the details, but once she did she realised she was looking at a middle-aged woman.  
“Oh! Hello! I don't often get visitors!” The woman called out. Her voice was heavily accented.

*****

“Is that another normal race?” Mei asked. Matsuri nodded.  
“She's what's called a Frostborn. They have blue skin, horns, webbed feet and tails. They're a bit more long-lived than humans, living to about 200 years old.” She explained. “The accent is typical of Frostborn from their native country.”

*****

“Why don't you come on in? I'd love to hear some news about the outside world.” She suggested. Yuzu looked back at the others. Nene and Himeko seemed uncomfortable, while Harumin didn't seem bothered at all. Mei remained as unreadable as always.  
“We'd love to!” Yuzu called back. She let go of her axe, and approached the hut. The door swung open, and Yuzu walked in. The house inside was quite sparsely decorated, with only a small bed, a table close to the floor, and a large pot which was currently sitting over a fire. The woman had retreated back to stirring the pot. Yuzu's eyes immediately drifted to the Frostborn's arm, which was entirely wooden from the shoulder down. Despite that, it still seemed to move just fine.  
“Come in, come in, take a seat at the table. I'm very sorry I don't actually have chairs!”  
“Thank you miss...” Yuzu trailed off as she took a seat. The others followed suit. Himeko, Nene and Harumin each gasped softly at the sight of the arm, while Mei remained stoic as ever.  
“You can call me Donna. And what are your names?” She replied. The group went around the table introducing themselves, while Donna nodded. “It's lovely to meet you all.”  
“Pardon me being rude.” Himeko said. “But...how are you moving that arm?” Donna laughed softly, and lifted the arm.  
“Oh this? This is a long story. Why don't we sit and eat first, then I'll tell you all about it.” She suggested.  
“Alright.” Himeko agreed begrudgingly. Donna spent a few more minutes cooking and singing softly, before serving up six bowls of soup, and distributing them among the group. She sat down next to Yuzu and Nene, and smiled.  
“It's so nice to have company. I've been so lonely since those lovely black flag fellows died.” She replied.  
“You mean the pirates?” Yuzu asked. Donna nodded.  
“Oh yes. Have you seen them?” She replied.  
“We've seen their skeletons.” Harumin answered. “We've had to kill them too.” Donna sighed softly.  
“Such a shame. But they brought it on themselves. I warned them not to stay, but they insisted on trying to find the treasure. It was a nice few months at least. And I got to finally practice my craft again.” Donna mused.  
“What's your craft?” Yuzu asked.  
“She's obviously an artificer.” Himeko declared. Donna nodded.  
“Himeko is correct. I'm an artificer.” She said simply. “You didn't happen to recover any of their weapons, did you?” Harumin shuffled a bit, and drew one of her daggers.  
“Like this one?” She asked.  
“Oh yes! Exactly like that one!” The woman said, holding a hand out. Harumin handed it over, and Donna looked it over slowly.  
“It's been an age since I've seen this weapon. Such a wonderful piece of work it was too. So, what has brought you to the island?”  
“A village was built here a recently.” Mei replied. “We've been hired to assist them in subduing the threats that surround it.”  
“Oh my. That's quite the job.” Donna remarked. “Well, I'll give you the same advice I gave the pirates. You should quit while you're ahead. You don't want to wind up trapped here like me.”  
“We could take you with us.” Yuzu offered. Donna laughed softly.  
“No, no, it's quite alright.” She said. “The pirates made the same offer, but I turned them down. I don't mind it here anymore. I've had countless decades to perfect my arts.”  
“How long...have you been here?” Himeko asked. “The pirates looked to be dead for quite a while.”  
“Oh yes, they passed away at least fifty years ago.” Donna said. “I've been here for oh...I'd say it's going on a thousand years now.” The girls collectively dropped their spoons.

*****

“Alright!” Matsuri declared. “Let's stop for lunch!”  
"You brat." Harumin grumbled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing the last chapter in slower, more regular bursts actually helped a lot, as it meant I was in the habit of working, and got this one done in under a week. So I figured let's just throw it out now, and I'm sure I can get 12 done before the 15th. Harumin's experience with the crocodiles is something of a homage to a friend in my old group, who had similar abysmal luck with crocodiles. He'd end up grappled and dragged into the swamp in every encounter with them, and never really got to participate in the rest of the fight.
> 
> As for the plot. We're at the half-way turning point. From here we'll be getting more answers than questions, and hopefully I haven't screwed myself, and we'll actually reach the end before I run out of chapters in this volume. 
> 
> As always, feedback is appreciated! I'd ask for theories but without any insight into the lore of the world, I don't imagine anyone can make an informed guess. Maybe in future volumes.
> 
> EDIT: Added the last line just to bump the word count to 44444.


	12. Life is Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls spend some time talking with Donna, and get some answers about the island, and a whole lot more questions.

“Are we all done levelling up?” Yuzu asked as she settled back into her seat, placing the boxes in the middle of the table. Matsuri had suggested they get pizza for lunch instead, and both Harumin and Nene had agreed. Yuzu wasn't going to turn down the chance to take a break from cooking, so they'd gotten pizza. While they waited for it, they'd done their levelling up.  
“Yes, we're all done.” Mei replied, as she picked out her box, and started to eat. Yuzu smiled at the sight of her girlfriend eating pizza in the same slow, delicate manner she did most things. It was oddly surreal.  
“Alright, so what did we all get for levelling up?” Yuzu asked, looking down at her sheet. It wasn't where she'd left it. “Where's my sheet?”  
“I moved them to the kitchen counter.” Mei said. “So we don't get them messy. You remember what you got for levelling up, don't you?” Yuzu nodded.  
“Yeah, I got an attribute bonus from my warrior level up, which I put into constitution, and then I took greater mighty blows.” She announced.  
“What does that do?” Nene asked.  
“I roll my damage dice twice when I hit things!” Yuzu replied.  
“Oh wow, that's pretty good.” Harumin said. “All I got was point blank shot. I don't get any good feats until I reach level 7. I did get another sneak attack dice though!”  
“Oh, nice! What about you Nene?”  
“I took rapid shot, so I can fire two arrows in a turn.” Nene replied smiling. Yuzu nodded, and looked over to Himeko.  
“And what about you?”  
“I took Improved Spell Focus.” Himeko answered. “And picked up Fire Ward and Flamestrike for my spells.”  
“What do they do?” Harumin asked as she went to take a massive bite of pizza.  
“Fire Ward negates fire damage, and deals damage to enemies near me. Flamestrike is a big area of effect attack.” Himeko replied. Finally Yuzu looked over at Mei.  
“What about you? What did you get for levelling up?”  
“I took Improved Regeneration, so I regain more mana, and then I picked out Circle of Healing, so I can heal everyone at once with a single spell.” Mei explained.  
“So, are we able to do keep going now?” Yuzu asked. Matsuri sighed.  
“I suppose so. We're just talking with Donna after all.” She replied.

*****

Donna laughed softly, and placed her bowl down. “I apologise. With as little company as I get, I have to find what amusement I can from these interactions.”  
“So, you're not a thousand years old?” Himeko asked.  
“No, I'm not. I'd be around one thousand, one hundred and sixty years old now. I've just been on the island for a thousand years.” Donna replied.  
“Then...how have you lived this long?” Himeko continued. She sounded almost angry at the information.  
“Well. This island is...not the paradise it seems like.” Donna began. “It's a long story, if you don't mind listening.”  
“We don't!” Yuzu replied quickly. Donna smiled.  
“Well, I was part of an explorers fleet. I was the fleets outfitter. We picked a direction and sailed, with the intention to turn around if we didn't find anything. Obviously, we did. We landed by the swamp, before sailing a bit further east around the island.” Donna began. “The island was much the same back then as it is now, though this tree was much smaller. But the ruins around the island were still just as mysterious for us as I imagine they've been for you. They had a great many skeletons inhabiting them then too, which we killed. We lost people doing it though, which is where we learned where the skeletons came from.”  
“Where?” Yuzu asked.  
“They're...well, anything that dies.” Donna answered. “Or...anything sentient, I suppose. Animals don't come back, but I've never seen one die of old age. There's something about this island that stops things dying. And if they do, it often brings them back.”  
“Nothing?” Himeko continued. Donna nodded.  
“Nothing. Every plant you've seen has been here for hundreds of years. They grow faster too, though I imagine you wouldn't notice that.”  
“So what happened to your expedition?” Yuzu asked.  
“We explored this side of the island. We lost a lot of good people doing so. But we found a lot of gold, and trinkets. We went up the mountain to explore one last ruin. We didn't make it far though. In the first room we got into a fight with a lot of skeletons, and there I lost my arm, and bled out. When I woke up, I found that I'd been left for dead. I would have died too, but they'd laid me against the wall and...” Donna trailed off, before standing up and lifting her shirt, to reveal a small bud of leaves on her lower back. It looked an awful lot like a very small tree. Spreading from it were glowing green veins, running out along her body. “I found this. Over the next few days, my lost arm regrew in wood. I spent a few days exploring, before finding this tree. It was only a little bigger than the others at the time, but with a bit of work, I helped it flourish into the home I have now.”  
“So why don't you want to leave?” Harumin asked. “I mean, if you've been here so long, why not go and see the world again?”  
“I don't think I can.” Donna replied matter of factly. “This growth seems to be tied to the island, and I've grown accustomed enough to living that I don't want to risk it losing it's power.”  
“Well...how long ago did the pirates come?” Yuzu asked.  
“I'd guess a hundred years or so.” Donna said. “Why?”  
“Would you like some news from the world?” Yuzu offered.  
“I don't imagine you could tell her much.” Mei teased.  
“Hey!” Yuzu protested. Donna laughed softly.  
“I'd appreciate that.” She said. “Whatever you can tell me would be lovely.”

The group spent the rest of the night chatting about recent history. Nene looked particularly lost, though Yuzu and Harumin didn't do much better keeping up. When they mentioned orcs Donna was particularly perplexed, and so Himeko had to tell her the story of how the orcs had entered the world recently. Donna listened with absolute enthusiasm to the tales of the heroes who'd prevented the orcs from overrunning the country they'd arrived in. The sun set, and Donna activated the various orbs that lay around her house, each glowing softly.  
“You're welcome to stay here the night. You've been such wonderful company after all.” Donna offered.  
“That sounds lovely!” Yuzu agreed. She paused for a moment, and looked around at the others. “That's okay right?”  
“I don't mind.” Harumin said. “It's nice up here. Warm, but not stifling. And it's not wet.” Donna laughed softly.  
“It was freezing when I got here, but after a couple of months I had enough, and so crafted several trinkets to regulate the heat.” She said.  
“Hey, you said you made these, right?” Harumin asked, holding up the daggers. Donna nodded.  
“I did yes.”  
“Could you make us more stuff?”  
“I could...but I'd have to request payment. Such things do not come cheap.” Donna replied.  
“We've got a pile of gold back in the village.” Nene offered. Donna laughed softly.  
“I don't have any need of gold. No, what I need is Dust.” She answered.  
“Dust?” Yuzu asked. “Like...dirt?”  
“It's a magic substance made from magic items that have been disenchanted.” Mei explained softly.  
“Oh, thanks Mei.” Yuzu replied.  
“I don't think we've got any of that lying around.” Harumin said with a groan.  
“Actually, I had an old stash that I lost. If you could retrieve it for me, I'd be happy to upgrade your current gear.”  
“I feel like there's going to be a catch.”  
“Well. I lost it when I was poking around in a Hydra's lair. I was sure that it had moved on, but I guess I didn't wait long enough and it came back. I dropped it when I was fleeing.” Donna explained.  
“How can you not kill a Hydra?” Himeko asked. “To have made this you have to be very talented.”  
“That's very kind of you.” Donna replied. “But no, four heads to keep track of is a few too many, and I've grown accustomed to avoiding conflict.”  
“We can probably handle it!” Yuzu declared. “We'll go kill the hydra for you.”  
“Thank you very much. I'll give you some potions in the morning to help.” Donna offered. “But for now, we should sleep. I'll show you to your rooms.” She lead showed them each their rooms, leaving the rest in the main hut while she showed someone where they were sleeping. Finally, she came back for Mei and Yuzu, the last two.  
“So, who would like the next room?” Donna asked. Yuzu looked over at Mei.  
“You can have it.” She said. Mei paused.  
“Actually, would it be possible for us to share a room?” She asked. Donna smiled, looking a little taken aback.  
“Well, of course it would.” She replied.  
“Wonderful, thank you.” Mei said. Donna led them both out of the hut, and up a branch that spiralled around the hut. It lead to a long branch which had the same carriage-like structures. They looked more like small floating gazebos Yuzu realised. Donna led them past a few, before stopping in front of one and gesturing to it. A large bed sat in the middle, while around the edge ran a low sofa. At the foot of the bed sat an orb on a pedestal.  
“Your room.” Donna announced. “I picked one out a decent distance from your friends to give you some privacy.” Yuzu blushed at the implication.

*****

“What! It's nothing like that!” Yuzu said loudly, standing up. This got her a few soft chuckles from her friends.  
“Wow Yuzu. You're really getting into the role.” Matsuri teased. Yuzu sunk back into her seat. Across the table from her she could see the slightest hint of a blush to Mei's cheeks.

*****

“Oh, I'm sorry, I just assumed since...” Donna replied.  
“We're sisters.” Mei corrected her quickly. “We've been separated for most of our lives, so Yuzu has become a bit attached.”

*****

Mei gave Yuzu the slightest glance as she said this, a hint of a smirk playing on her lip. Yuzu opened her mouth to protest, but before the words got out the look was gone.

*****

“You're just as bad.” Yuzu replied.  
“I grew up in a nunnery. We were all very close. I've grown accustomed to sharing my space with others. That's all.” Mei answered with an incredible air of dignity.  
“Hey! I spent most of my life sleeping with other people too!” Yuzu protested.  
“You shouldn't be proud of such things. It's unbecoming of the sister of a priest.” Mei teased. Donna laughed softly, while Yuzu fumed.  
“You know that's not what I meant! I meant that the clan slept in groups.”  
“I am aware. I'm reminding you that we're in civilised company, where normal people sleep only with their lovers. I wouldn't be nearly as accommodating if you weren't my sister. After all, people might get the wrong idea. There's already enough rumours surrounding nuns as it is.” Mei said. Yuzu sighed. She'd been beaten.  
“Anyway, this is your room, once you're in, I'll push you off. From there, just tap the orb in the centre when you'd like to return to the tree.” Donna explained. The two girls walked into the gazebo a little hesitantly. Once they were in, Donna placed a foot on the edge, and gave it a gentle push. The gazebo gently drifted away from the tree, through the leaves, and finally out into the open air, where it stopped, floating above the swamp below. Yuzu walked over to the edge, and let out a soft gasp. The island stretched out before her, bathed in silver moonlight. It was beautiful.  
“This is amazing...” Yuzu said softly. Mei walked up behind her.  
“It is.” She agreed. “But I'd like to sleep. I've had a long day.” Mei turned, and headed for the bed. Yuzu sat for a few more minutes, staring at the island, before going to bed as well.

*****

“Alright, so while you sleep, the gazebo awakens and eats you all.” Matsuri declared.  
“What?” Harumin exclaimed. Matsuri laughed, and waved her hands sheepishly.  
“Nothing! Don't worry! I'm just joking. You all get a good night's sleep, and awaken the next morning in your floating gazebos.”

*****

Yuzu leant over the edge of the gazebo, and stared down at the island. From here she could see what lay beyond the tree. The swamp extended to the edge of the island, seemingly ceasing just before the island was occluded by the further mountain. Between the two mountains Yuzu could see a small lagoon, which looked like it could've been the one they'd found the pirate ship in. A lip extended on the side closest to them between the two mountains, preventing access to the lagoon. Looking over the swamp, it seemed to be absent of any ruins. Yuzu guessed they could probably leave it without any fear of the village being in trouble. She turned her gaze to the mountain. It stood taller than the tree, stretching up into the clouds, the thick jungle trees covering it the whole way up. They were occasionally stopped by cliff faces, exposed areas where a river flowed down the mountain, and in two places Yuzu could see ruins sticking out among the trees. Once they were done with the hydra, they'd have to climb the mountain.  
Behind her, Yuzu heard the sound of Mei getting up. She headed back over to the bed.  
“Good morning sleepyhead.” She said. “Want me to send us back?”  
“Yes.” Mei replied with a yawn. She got up and took a moment to fix her hair while Yuzu tapped the orb. The gazebo began to glide back, and the two walked down the branch and back to the hut. They were the last ones up.  
“Morning!” Harumin called to them. The rest of the girls were already sitting around the table eating breakfast with Donna.  
“Morning!” Yuzu called back. Mei and Himeko exchanged quieter pleasantries while Yuzu joined Harumin.  
“Where'd you sleep? We couldn't see a gazebo for you last night.” Harumin asked.  
“Oh, Donna gave us one a bit further up.” Yuzu explained.  
“She was under the impression we were lovers.” Mei declared flatly. Harumin burst out laughing. Yuzu huffed softly, and picked out some food for herself from the central dish.  
“So anyway.” Himeko said. “What are we doing today?”  
“We're going out to kill the Hydra.” Yuzu answered. “And then...Donna, do you have a map of the island by any chance?” Donna hummed softly.  
“I could certainly make one.” She replied. Yuzu smiled.  
“Would you mind? So we can make a plan while you upgrade our gear.” She asked. Donna laughed softly.  
“You're wasting no time exploiting a kind old woman.” She teased. Yuzu paused.  
“Sorry!” She shouted, throwing her head forward in a bow. “I didn't mean anything like that! Of course if you're not willing that's fine!” Donna laughed again.  
“It's fine dear. I'm just teasing. I'd be happy to upgrade everything for you.” Donna replied with a smile. “The fact you're planning to head out and deal with my problem so quickly is very reassuring.”  
“Does anyone even know how we fight a Hydra?” Harumin asked.

*****

“What knowledge is that?” Nene asked.  
“Nature.” Matsuri replied.  
“Oh! I have that!” Nene declared, grabbing up her dice. “I got a 19 so...31.”

*****

“I do.” Nene answered. “They regenerate from wounds, but it's slow enough that we can kill it if we try. If we have to run away though, it'll probably be fully healed before we are. Other than that, we've got to worry about the poison cloud that hangs around it, and the poison that it can inflict when it bites us.”  
“Geez, how does a hunter's daughter know all that?” Harumin teased. Nene blushed a little.  
“I um...I wanted to be a hero one day...so I kept asking the older hunters questions about the kinds of things I'd have to hunt if I was a hero...” Nene explained.  
“Well, you're a hero to me!” Yuzu said. Nene smiled shyly.  
“Thanks...”  
“So, Donna. You said something about potions?” Himeko asked.  
“I did.” Donna replied, climbing to her feet. She picked out a few leather sashes with pockets containing small vials, and handed them out. “For the fighters among you there's healing potions and troll's blood elixirs, while the casters have a single healing potion, and a bunch of mana potions instead.”

*****

“What does a troll's blood elixir do?” Yuzu asked.  
“It's a very slow healing potion.” Himeko told her. Matsuri nodded.  
“It heals 1 health every turn for 10 minutes.” She explained.  
“...How many turns are there in a minute?” Harumin asked after a moment.  
“Ten.” Mei replied. “Each turn is 6 seconds.”  
“Thanks.” Harumin replied.

*****

“Alright! Let's go!” Yuzu declared.  
“We don't know where we're going.” Mei pointed out. She looked over at Donna. “Would you mind pointing us in the direction of it's lair?”  
“Of course.” Donna replied. She lead them out of the hut, and out along a branch, until they were clear of the leaves. There she pointed to a spot in the swamp. “It's right there. Here, I'll...” She reached into a pocket, and pulled out a small wand, before firing off a glowing orb. It soared through the air towards where she'd pointed, before coming to an abrupt halt, and hovering. “There, that'll stay for a few hours, so you can find it.”  
“That's so cool! Thank you!” Yuzu declared. Donna smiled.  
“No worries.”  
“Alright, now let's go!” Yuzu declared. Donna lead them to a gazebo to take them back down, and waved as they began their descent into the tree.

The party made their way slowly through the swamp towards the guiding star that floated above them. It took a few hours, but finally they arrived. The orb floated above a cave in the swamp. It didn't seem natural, with the majority of the cave being comprised of large, loose rocks. It didn't go very deep either.  
“Anyone see a hydra around here?” Harumin asked. Yuzu wandered forward a few steps and looked around. It didn't seem to be here.  
“Nope.” She replied. “What should we do?”  
“We could set up an ambush.” Himeko suggested.  
“It's not likely it could sneak up on us.” Nene added.  
“Why not?” Yuzu asked, looking over at Nene.  
“The poison cloud.” She answered. “We'd start feeling it's effects before we saw the Hydra.” She explained.  
“Oh. That's good to know.” Yuzu replied.  
“Not to rain on your parade or anything, but why are we even talking about fighting it?” Harumin asked, as she walked towards the cave. The boulders made a bit of a lip to the entrance, which she started scrambling up.  
“Because that's what we're here to do.” Himeko answered. “Did you already forget?” Harumin looked over her shoulder and flashed Himeko a grin.  
“For someone who's done so much study, you aren't very good at listening.” She teased. “We're here to retrieve the dust. We just assumed we'd have to kill the Hydra to get to it.”  
“And what if we get back and find that she did want us to kill it?” Himeko demanded. Harumin shrugged.  
“Then we can come and kill it while she's working on some of our gear.” She replied. “Just keep an eye out while I try and find it.” Himeko huffed loudly.  
“You're not going to abide this, are you Yuzu?” She asked. Yuzu thought for a moment.  
“I mean, I'd like to fight the Hydra, but there's no harm in grabbing what we came for first right?” She replied. Himeko scowled and turned to Mei.  
“What about you Mei? Are you okay with this?”  
“If we can accomplish our goal without risking our lives, I see no reason not to do so.” Mei answered.  
“But...what if it's a threat to the village?” Himeko insisted.  
“We can ascertain that threat when we're better equipped, and if it is, we can hopefully fight it in more favourable conditions.” Mei replied. Yuzu smiled.  
“I don't think it'll be a threat to the village.” Nene called out to Himeko. “Hydras are territorial creatures. It wouldn't have any reason to leave the swamp, so long as the villagers don't go in there.”  
“Nene.” Mei called out, walking towards her. Nene jumped and let out a soft squeak.  
“Yes?” She asked quickly.

*****

“That's...out of character.” Harumin remarked. Nene looked sheepish.  
“Sorry...her tone just reminded me of something...” She replied.  
“I apologise.” Mei said.

*****

“You mentioned that we'd feel the effects of the Hydra's poison before we saw it. What would that feel like?” Mei asked.  
“Um...I remember people saying it felt like the air was choking them, and they coughed a lot. Why?” Nene replied. Mei nodded.  
“I wanted to be sure it wasn't something we might not notice until it was too late. Coughing however is a fairly obvious sign. I imagine we won't have any issues.” Mei said.  
“Hey Harumin, how's it coming?” Yuzu called from the entrance of the cave. While Himeko had been arguing with them, she'd ducked into the cave to try and find the Dust.  
“Almost done I think!” Harumin called back. “There's a lot of loose rocks to turn over, but I think I can see it!”  
“Alright!” Yuzu shouted. She turned away and scanned the swamp around them. The tree cover here was heavier, with only a few noticeable gaps. Each gap was pretty large, and several of them were occupied by a fallen tree. Yuzu guessed they were the pathways the Hydra usually used to get in and out of it's lair. There was a small clearing around it, with numerous dead trees knocked over in the water. Probably also the work of the Hydra in making it's lair more to it's taste. For the most part, the swamp was quiet, with only the occasional distant noise from an animal to intersperse the silence. Travelling here Yuzu had appreciated the silence, but now that they were waiting near the lair of a monster, she missed the sounds of the jungle. She especially missed the safety those noises suggested. Without them, she felt like they could be under attack at any minute.  
“I've got it!” Harumin declared. Yuzu turned to see her standing at the entrance of the cave, a satchel in hand held high above her head in victory. “Let's get back to Donna, and get our reward.”  
“That sounds like a great idea!” Yuzu agreed.  
“If we have t-” Himeko began to complain, before being cut off, as she started coughing.  
“Are you alright?” Harumin asked her. Himeko coughed a moment longer, before managing to take a deep breath and nodding.  
“I think so. The air just feels very heavy here.” She replied. Then Mei started coughing too.  
“Oh no...” Nene said softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a little on the short side compared to my goal. Including the fight in this chapter would've either lead to a rushed fight, or a very long chapter, and I decided to just sacrifice a bit of length on today's chapter. The gazebo joke is a very old D&D joke dating back to like, the 1980s. But given that you can still find some references to it scattered around it seems the kind of thing Matsuri would pick up on.
> 
> So, we're now half-way to the end! It's all a downhill stretch from here of piecing together some answers, and working out just what's going on on the island, as well as if the village is going to be in any danger. Rampant baseless speculation about the island, what volume 2 is going to be about, and what kind of petty drama Yuzu and Mei can stir up is all welcomed and encouraged.


	13. The Many Faces of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls do battle with the Hydra!

“Roll initiative!” Matsuri declared.  
“Can't we just leg it?” Harumin asked.  
“The fight isn't starting yet, I just want to get initiative ready before we start.” Matsuri explained.  
“I rolled a 2.” Nene whined.  
“I only got a 5.” Yuzu told her with a smile. Nene smiled back.  
“8.” Harumin announced.  
“9.” Himeko said, with a hint of satisfaction.  
“14.” Mei announced finally.  
“Alright so...Mei-San first, then Taniguchi-Senpai and Eyebrow-Chan.” Matsuri announced.  
“What!” Himeko protested. Harumin flashed her a cheeky grin, while Himeko scowled.  
“What did the Hydra get?” Nene asked.  
“It rolled a 1.” Matsuri answered. “So...it's going last.” Nene and Yuzu grinned at each other.

*****

Mei coughed a few more times, and stumbled towards the cave, grabbing the front of her robe and holding it over her mouth. Himeko followed her lead, bringing her own robes up to her mouth and hurrying over to the others. Harumin jumped down from the cave and sighed as she walked up beside Yuzu.  
“We should make a run for it.” Harumin said. Yuzu shook her head.  
“Donna wanted came here looking for something before. She'll probably appreciate it being dead.” Yuzu replied. Harumin groaned.  
“I knew you'd say something like that.” She complained. Yuzu flashed her a grin.  
“That's why you voted me leader.” Harumin gave her an exasperated look, before grinning back.  
“Sure is!” She agreed. There was a loud splash from across the clearing, followed by four deafening roars. Yuzu whipped her head around to see the Hydra had emerged from the tree line.  
“Mei, are you feeling okay?” Yuzu asked. Mei nodded.  
“I'm feeling a little weak, but nothing I can't heal in a moment.” She replied.  
“Alright, heal up, and then I'll charge it. Nene stay way back. Harumin...I guess you're gonna have to come join me.” Yuzu said.

*****

“Wow Yuzu, an actual plan. I'm impressed.” Harumin teased.  
“Well I mean...when we already know what the fight is going to be like it's not hard...” Yuzu replied.

*****

Mei started casting, her spells occasionally interrupted by a short fit of coughing.  
“I'm not going to be able to heal as effectively...” She announced quickly.  
“I don't think I can cast much either...” Himeko said.  
“Well, stand back and let the pros handle it.” Harumin replied, flashing them a grin and tossing Himeko the satchel of dust before setting off at a jog towards the Hydra. Yuzu joined her, jogging until she was a few steps closer before coming to a stop. She didn't know how fast a Hydra was, and she didn't want to go running into the water if she could avoid it. Nene fired off a pair of arrows at the Hydra. They both found their mark, sinking into the Hydra's flesh.   
The Hydra stampeded forward. It was surprisingly mobile. As it rushed, Yuzu saw one of the arrows push itself out of the Hydra's body, as the wound healed. The Hydra came to a stop near Yuzu. It wasn't close enough for her to swing, but it's necks were long enough to bring each head down to her level, and one by one they each took a bite at her. Each one managed to sink it's teeth into her, and Yuzu cried out in pain.

*****

“Hey Yuzu-Chan!” Matsuri called. Yuzu groaned. That wasn't a good tone.  
“Yeah?”  
“Make four fort saves!”  
“What passes?”  
“13 or higher.” Matsuri answered.  
“I got a 3...” Yuzu grumbled.  
“With your mods?” Himeko asked dubiously.  
“No, it's a 12 with my mods.” Yuzu answered.  
“Alright, you take 1 point of Constitution damage.” Matsuri said. “That might reduce your HP.” Yuzu glanced down at her stats. She had a 19 in Constitution.  
“So...I just reduce it by 1? And does it come back?” Yuzu asked.  
“Yeah.” Matsuri replied.  
“Okay, no HP loss for now.” Yuzu declared with a grin.  
“Alright, Mei-San, your turn. Make a fort save to be able to cast normally.”  
“8.” Mei replied.  
“You've got an extra move action to casting while you cough.” Matsuri declared. Mei nodded, and looked down at her spells.  
“What happens if I cast a spell that's a full round action?” She asked.  
“It goes off on your next turn. And then you only have a standard action next turn.” Matsuri explained.

*****

Mei started casting. The spell had to be put on hold several times as she coughed, but amazingly she didn't lose her place, and the spell continued without a problem.  
“I'll follow your lead.” Harumin called to Yuzu, between a few coughs. Yuzu nodded. Behind them, Himeko started casting. She didn't seem to be suffering from the poison as much as everyone else. The Hydra burst into flames, as most enemies Himeko had cast on recently did. With her spell finished, Himeko sprinted forward, stopping a few feet short of Yuzu. Yuzu pushed through the cloud of poison that had surrounded her, overcoming the urge to cough, and swung her axe at the Hydra with a mighty roar. The axe bit into the Hydra's flesh, leaving a nasty looking gash.

*****

“How much damage was that?” Harumin asked.  
“23.” Yuzu answered.  
“Aihara Yuzu!” Himeko exclaimed. Her tone contained all the protest that was needed. Yuzu grinned at her sheepishly.  
“I rolled a 1 on one of my dice...” She explained.  
“That's...even worse.”

*****

Harumin sprung into action, tossing a dagger at the Hydra. The dagger landed in one of the Hydra's eyes, drawing an angry cry of pain from it.

*****

“How much?” Yuzu asked softly.  
“28. But it was a crit.” Harumin whispered back. Himeko glared at them both. She'd done 4 damage last turn.

*****

The Hydra swung it's heads low, biting at Yuzu with all four of them. One of them missed, and splashed into the water beside her, but the rest all managed to connect in succession. Yuzu grit her teeth. The bites really hurt, but at least the poison didn't seem to be taking any effect on her.  
Mei finished her spell, her coughing fit seemingly passed. Yuzu felt the familiar sensation of her wounds healing. It was almost enough to offset the previous set of bites she'd received. Harumin held her hand out, and the dagger she'd just thrown re-appeared. She threw two dagger, both landing true. The two daggers hit something important, as the Hydra roared in pain.

*****

“Geez Taniguchi-Senpai, could you quit with the crits?” Matsuri grumbled. Harumin flashed her a grin.  
“Nope! That's 39 all up!” She announced.  
“Alright, my turn!” Himeko declared. “I'll scorch and then cast firebolt.” She grabbed her dice and rolled, before sighing.  
“What's wrong?” Yuzu asked.  
“I missed the firebolt.” Himeko replied.  
“So how much damage?” Harumin asked with a cheeky grin.  
“16.” Himeko answered.  
“That's...not bad.” Harumin said, her grin faltering a little.

*****

Yuzu took a breath and coughed. The poison was worse next to the Hydra. Thankfully, she could still tough it out. She lifted her two axes and swung. The two axes hit, and tore through the Hydra's flesh, causing it to wail in pain.

*****

“That's terrifying.” Harumin muttered as she stared at the dice. Yuzu nodded slowly.  
“Uh...yeah...” She said. Her first axe had done 30 damage. The second had done 31. “Maybe Himeko has a point...”  
“I've been telling you!” Himeko replied. “I have to spend mana to even remotely keep up!”  
“You're also not getting attacked.” Nene said. “I think it's okay for Yuzu to do so much damage. She's the one who puts herself in danger for us.” Yuzu looked over at Nene. She had a surprisingly determined look on her face. Himeko hesitated, before sighing.  
“I guess you're right.”  
“Nene! It's your turn!” Matsuri called.

*****

Nene fired off two arrows in quick succession. One of them looked a bit awkward, but they both hit, though in comparison to the previous blow that struck it, this one barely seemed to phase the Hydra. The Hydra roared at Yuzu, and lashed out with all of it's heads once more. While all four landed a bite, two of them came at angles that left them unable to pierce Yuzu's skin. She was surprised by how much it didn't hurt, in comparison to the last few attacks it'd made.  
Yuzu heard Mei casting distantly. It was a familiar, re-assuring sound, and Yuzu was pretty sure she could recite the spell herself if she really wanted to with how often Mei cast it on her. The familiar easing of pain followed, though most of her wounds still remained.  
Harumin tossed her two knives again, though this time one bounced off the Hydra's scales, the other found it's mark. The Hydra didn't roar in pain, but it did let out a soft grunt, and Yuzu was pretty sure it'd expended it's ability to care about the wounds it suffered.  
Himeko began her regular casting routine, conjuring a firebolt, before hurling it at the monster, and following with the shorter scorch spell. This time they both connected, leaving large burn marks across the monster's skin. Himeko cheered at her success.

*****

“43!” Himeko declared with a proud grin.  
“Not bad VP.” Harumin replied, causing Himeko to falter slightly.

*****

Yuzu kept up her assault, swinging her axes wildly at the monster in front of her. Unfortunately only one actually managed to connect, though it still tore through the skin and muscle with ease. Another two arrows flew over Yuzu's hear, hitting one of the Hydra's heads as it swung towards her. It paused a moment, shaking it's head, while the others struck, the stalled head coming in last. Three of them connected, but the final one was thrown off by the arrows sticking out of it, and managed to miss. Yuzu cried out in pain, and stumbled backwards, her breathing getting heavier. She didn't have much left in her.  
“Yuzu!” Mei called across the battlefield. Her voice was firm, and formal, and to most people it'd probably sound harsh, but Yuzu could pick out the faintest hint of warmth in it. Mei's spell coursed through her, and she lifted herself up. She had a little more left in her, it seemed. She glanced over her shoulder to see Mei slump to the ground. She looked exhausted. Despite that, she gave Yuzu a look of determination. She'd be okay.  
Yuzu's attention was brought back to the fight, as she heard Harumin break down coughing beside her. Yuzu glanced over to see her friend doubled over, unable to contribute for the moment. A similar coughing fit took Himeko, who managed to power through it, and hurl a firebolt at the monster despite it. She hit the Hydra in a place she'd hit before, the already burnt flesh searing further, and drawing a furious roar from the beast.  
Yuzu took a deep breath, and swung her weapons. That was a bit of a mistake, as she could feel her lungs burning at the poison, but she managed to prevent herself from coughing, and landed two blows along the Hydra's stomach. It roared, and stumbled backwards, it's own weakness showing. Nene fired off another two arrows. One of them hit the Hydra square in the eye, while the other landed in it's underbelly.  
The Hydra lunged at Yuzu in a last-ditch effort to sink it's teeth into her. It managed to connect with all four bites, each tearing a chunk off her, until Yuzu fell backwards into the water, the world fading into blackness.

*****

“Alright, so Yuzu's down, while she's down she doesn't take poison damage, so she won't die while she's unconscious.” Matsuri announced. “But she would've if not Mei-San healing her last turn.”  
“I could heal her and get her back up.” Mei suggested. “She wouldn't have much HP, but it might be enough.”  
“The poison damage of being next to the Hydra would probably just down her again.” Himeko pointed out. Yuzu nodded.  
“I'll heal Harumin then.” Mei replied. “19.”  
“I'm mostly healed...but without Yuzu up I don't really do any damage.” Harumin admitted. “I'll...fall back to here, I guess.” She reached over and picked up her model, moving it back towards Mei and Himeko.  
“You should draw your cutlass.” Himeko suggested.  
“Huh? Why?” Harumin asked.  
“In case it charges you.” Himeko answered. Harumin thought for a moment, before sighing and nodding.   
“I'll toss a knife over my shoulder and draw the cutlass.” Harumin announced.  
“Himeko, your turn.” Matsuri announced.  
“I'll try and finish it off!” Himeko declared. She rolled a fort save, against coughing, and failed. Then she rolled to with her firebolt. And missed. Finally she sighed. “Nevermind I guess.”  
“Can I take a free action during a charge?” Nene asked. Matsuri nodded. “Okay...Harumin, can you throw me the sword when I pass?”  
“Uh, sure.” Harumin answered.  
“Then I'll drop my bow and charge the Hydra.” Nene announced.  
“Alright, the Hydra gets an attack against you as you charge past it, and you take 12 damage, but now you can make your attack.”  
“14! So that's a 25 to hit.” Nene declared.  
“Hit.”  
“And then...how much damage was it?”  
“The cutlass is 1d6, and so is the Shadow enchantment.” Harumin replied.  
“So...11...plus 5 from my favoured enemy. That's 16 all up.” Nene announced, looking over at Matsuri. Matsuri sucked on her teeth for a moment.  
“That's enough to kill it!” She declared.

*****

Yuzu regained conciousness with her head resting on Mei's lap.  
“Are you okay?” Mei asked. Yuzu nodded slowly, a bit dazed.  
“Yeah...did we get it?” She replied.  
“Nene did.” Mei answered. Yuzu sat up and looked around. Harumin was standing next to Nene talking excitedly, while Nene smiled. She looked a little overwhelmed. Behind them sat the Hydra's body, completely dead. Himeko was looking over it.  
“She did?” Yuzu asked. Mei nodded.  
“She took Harumin's cutlass and stabbed it.” She said. There was a hint of amusement in her tone.  
“What? No way!” Yuzu exclaimed. She bolted upright before wincing. She still hurt a lot.  
“Calm down. I've barely started healing you.” Mei chided her. “Here, let me finish.” She said, starting to cast again. It was a slow process, as Yuzu was used to, but the pain slowly faded.  
“Thanks Mei...” Yuzu said softly, leaning on her again. Mei didn't protest, and soon Yuzu's wounds were fully healed.  
“Can you get off me now?” Mei asked. Yuzu jumped to her feet.  
“Sorry! I didn't mean to, I was just tired and so...” Yuzu began explaining. Mei ignored her, and climbed to her feet.  
“I understand.” She said simply. Her tone and mannerisms gave Yuzu pause. It was the thing she did when she was trying to seem annoyed. Yuzu smiled.  
“Okay!” She said loudly, before turning her attention to Harumin and Nene. “Great job Nene!” Nene blushed as she looked over.  
“Thank you...” She replied softly.  
“So, are we heading back?” Harumin asked. Yuzu nodded.  
“I think so. Is everyone healed?”  
“Yes.” Mei replied. “I healed everyone else first.”  
“Oh…” Yuzu said softly.  
“Himeko wouldn't stop whining about the pain.” Harumin explained.  
“I distinctly remember you complaining just as much!” Himeko called as she walked back over. “And Nene pointed out you wouldn't feel the pain while you were unconscious.” Nene gave Yuzu a sheepish look.  
“Mei really wanted to heal you first.” Nene admitted. Yuzu smiled, and nodded.  
“You're right, I didn't really feel anything after I passed out.” She agreed. “So, I guess that means we can head back?”

The group walked back to the tree. The trek back was drastically easier, since they'd already crossed the terrain. Even so, the journey took them a few hours, and it was approaching sunset by the time they arrived. They climbed the roots back up to the gazebo they'd ridden down. They rode it back up, with only one incident when Harumin decided to see what touching the tree would do, and managed to get a friction burn on her fingers.  
“Hey Mei, can you heal this?” Harumin asked.  
“I can.” Mei replied simply.  
“Okay...will you?” Harumin continued.  
“I don't see why I should expend mana to fix your mistake. It might teach you a lesson.” Mei answered. She seemed abnormally bitchy.  
“Fine, guess I'll just use a potion.” Harumin announced, reaching for her bag. Mei sighed.  
“Alright, if you're that desperate.” She conceded, casting a quick, half-hearted plea.  
“Thanks.” Harumin replied. She didn't sound particularly thankful. By the time they exchange was finished, they'd reached the top, and filed out towards the hut. Donna poked her head out again as they approached, a big smile on her face.  
“You made it!” She declared. Yuzu grinned.  
“We sure did!”  
“And we got the dust!” Harumin called, hoisting the satchel into the air.  
“Wonderful! Come on in and we can work out what you want, and how long it will take to make.” Donna replied. “And I've got soup on the fire, so we can eat while we talk.”  
“Sounds good.” Yuzu said. They walked inside, and settled around the table, while Donna finished cooking.  
“I'd suggest you stick to items you've already got that you want enchanted to start with. Weapons and armour won't take me too long, then I can make you fancy trinkets to go from there.”  
“We've already got a few trinkets.” Nene said.  
“We do?” Himeko asked. Nene nodded.  
“We've got the amulet and the circlet from the pirate we killed. And the hat, which we don't know anything about.” She explained.

*****

Himeko shuffled through her sheets, before stopping, and staring at it blankly.  
“I completely forgot I had that.” She said.

*****

“Oh, yes, of course.” Himeko replied.  
“Why haven't you been using it?” Harumin asked.  
“I simply haven't cast the spell I bound it in yet.” Himeko said defensively. “I've been thinking I should swap it.”  
“What's this hat you're talking about?” Donna asked. Harumin reached into her bag and pulled it out.  
“This one. I stopped wearing it because we didn't know what it did.” Harumin said.

*****

“You forgot too.” Himeko whispered.  
“Shut up.” Harumin replied. The others giggled.

*****

“Oh! I remember this hat!” Donna exclaimed. “Yes, it's supposed to let you give commands that echo over an area. I made it for one of the captain's in the fleet who was soft spoken and had a hard time commanding respect.” Himeko snickered.  
“Perfect for you then Harumin.” She said. Harumin scowled at her.  
“We've also found a bunch of other things we'd like identified.” Yuzu said quickly, cutting off the fight that was brewing. Harumin nodded, and pulled out the amulets they'd found.  
“I didn't make any of these, so I'll need some time, but I can work them all out for you.” Donna replied.  
“Take all the time you need.” Yuzu replied. “So, about our equipment?”  
“Of course, of course.” Donna said. “Just let me finish with the soup.” She started spooning it out into the bowls, and handing them around. Once everyone was served she settled down with her own bowl. “You wanted weapons, the best I can do is what I made for the pirates before. So three enchantments to everything you own.”  
“I'd like my axes to be elements. Like...fire and...holy!” Yuzu declared. Donna nodded.  
“I can do that. And just three enhancements to your armour?” She asked. Yuzu nodded.  
“I just use the knives, so three enhancements on my armour too.” Harumin declared.  
“I'd like my bow to have some fire and air damage, and then just three enhancements to my armour.” Nene requested. Donna nodded.  
“And I assume just armour enhancements for you two?” Donna asked Himeko and Mei. They nodded.  
“Please.” Mei added.  
“This will all take me several weeks, but I can set up a gazebo to take you back out to the village tomorrow morning if you'd rather wait out there. It will wait at the village for you to want to come back.” Donna suggested.  
“That sounds really good, thank you!” Yuzu replied. Donna smiled.  
“Of course.”

*****

“How about we call here?” Matsuri suggested. “Since you'll be waiting until she's done.”  
“That's for the best. I believe Yuzu has plans tonight for dinner.” Mei replied.  
“Oh, yeah.” Yuzu said softly. Mei seemed shorter than usual.  
“What plans?” Nene asked.  
“Harumin and I were going to get dinner.” Yuzu explained. Nene's face lit up. Harumin whacked her on the head with a gentle chop.  
“Stop putting me in your weird fantasies.” She said. Matsuri and Yuzu laughed, while Nene sulked a little. Mei showed Himeko to the door, before walking back down the hallway, and quickly towards the bedroom. Yuzu looked over in time to see her back as she walked off. She frowned. Something seemed to be wrong, but she couldn't work out what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a bit shorter than usual. Sorry about that, but it just seemed the logical place to stop for the chapter. Next time, the dinner! This also means we're now down to 2 more sessions, the next one is gonna clock in at 4 chapters, the final will clock in at 5 chapters, and there'll be one chapter slotted somewhere in between to serve as something of a lore dump to provide a whole bunch of context. With luck, we'll be finishing up just in time for Plus to come out, and I can start hashing out Volume 2.
> 
> As always, feedback is appreciated! Even the criticism. Actually, please someone post criticism. It's weird no one tells me I suck. I don't know how to handle people only being nice on the internet.


	14. Evening Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuzu and Harumin go out for dinner and karaoke.

Harumin let out a loud, happy sigh as they walked into the McDonald's.  
“Tell me about it.” Yuzu muttered in agreement. The summer night was hot and stuffy, and walking down had been hellish. The house wasn't much better either, but at least there they had fans, and the humidity didn't get nearly as bad.  
“I feel so sorry for you Yuzucchi.” Harumin remarked as they walked for the counter.  
“Huh? Why?”  
“Because. You'll have to walk to school in that heat for ages.” Harumin replied with a cheeky grin. Yuzu groaned.  
“Don't remind me...”  
“Alright! Tonight we'll only talk about good things!” Harumin declared. “Seeing as I won't get to see you much for a while.” The conversation came to a brief halt as they approached the register and ordered. They waited for their food, and took a seat before they started talking again.  
“So, what are you going to do over the rest of the summer?” Yuzu asked.  
“I don't know. Without my beloved Yuzucchi to hang out with, I think I'll just hang around at home a lot.” Harumin replied with a loud, dramatic sigh. “I guess I might spend some time with Matsuri and Nene. They seem to be getting along well.” Yuzu nodded.  
“Yeah. I'm really glad. I was worried they'd be at each other's throats.” She replied. Harumin laughed.  
“You never know with that brat.” She agreed. Yuzu laughed. The conversation fell quiet for a moment, with the two of them just eating.  
“Thanks for playing with us.” Yuzu said after a moment. Harumin looked up at her confused.  
“Huh? Why are you thanking me?”  
“Because! We could've spent this week shopping and hanging out, but instead we're sitting around playing a game.” Yuzu replied. “And...it's mostly because of me.” Harumin shook her head.  
“Don't be ridiculous Yuzucchi. We're hanging out and having fun. So what if we're not going shopping or something. The clothes are gonna be there later.” She answered. Yuzu smiled.  
“Thanks Harumin. So you like playing?” Harumin shrugged.  
“It's alright. It feels a bit weird having your sister and the VP there. They feel kind of bolted on to our friends. But like, you couldn't leave her out, since we're playing at your place. And I don't want Matsuri meeting my sister.” Harumin replied, she paused for a moment, before sighing. “Really, my only problem is I don't really like my character anymore.”  
“You don't like being a rogue?”  
“What? No, that part's great. Sneak attack is super fun! I just feel a bit weird with such a selfish bitchy character in the scenario we're in.” Harumin explained. “But like...I don't wanna just do a complete turnaround.” Yuzu nodded.  
“I getcha.” She said. “I'm still having fun with my character bu-”  
“That's because you're playing yourself.” Harumin teased. “I actually tried to make someone a bit different.”  
“Hey! I don't just rage at all my problems!” Yuzu protested. Harumin raised an eyebrow at her.  
“You do kinda just power through them though.” She replied. “By being very stubborn.”  
“Name one time I did that.” Yuzu demanded.  
“Dealing with my sister.” Harumin answered instantly. Yuzu paused.  
“Okay, that was one time.” Yuzu conceded.  
“Interrupting a school assembly to save your sister from that creepy teacher.” Harumin continued, holding out a hand to count as she spoke. “Barging into your grandfather's office when you were expelled. Just walking up to him and calling him gramps in the first place. Getting your sister to see her dad off at the airport...”  
“Okay! Okay! Maybe I do it a bit!” Yuzu admitted. Harumin laughed.  
“But that's what I love about you Yuzucchi.” She said with a grin. Yuzu grinned back.  
“Thanks Harumin!” Yuzu replied.  
“I think next time I'll just play myself too.” Harumin remarked. “I mean, Nene and the VP are basically doing that. I think the only other person actually playing a character is your sister.”  
“Is she?” Yuzu asked. Mei hadn't seemed all that different in character.  
“Well she actually likes you.” Harumin said with a mischievous grin.  
“Hey! We're getting along great now!”  
“She's also nice to everyone else. It's weird. I mean, she voted for you to be leader, so she's clearly not just being herself.” Yuzu nodded.  
“Yeah, I guess so.” She agreed. It seemed they hadn't been quite as subtle as they thought. Thankfully Harumin hadn't realised it was anything more than roleplaying. “So, next time eh? Having that much fun?” Yuzu teased.  
“Yeah, I guess I am.” Harumin said. “I don't think I'd want to play as much as we have this week again, it's already get exhausting. But maybe when we're back at school we could play after school each week or something.”  
“That'd be cool.” Yuzu agreed. “I wonder what I'll play next time...”  
“Another barbarian probably.” Harumin teased.  
“No! I want to play a caster next time!” Yuzu snapped back. She didn't actually want to. Hopefully, Harumin would forget she said this before the next game happened, and she could play something else.  
“Oh really?” Harumin sounded very skeptical. Yuzu nodded.  
“Yeah! What about you?”  
“I don't know yet. Probably something a bit more focused.” Harumin answered. “The dagger thing is fun, but I need too many feats. I don't think I'm ever going to be able to do everything I want with it.”  
“What else do you even need?” Yuzu asked. Harumin lifted her hand and started counting as she answered.  
“Quick Draw, so I can throw two daggers a turn. Vital Shot so stabbing isn't way better than throwing, but that needs Precise Shot. I'll get Precise Shot in two levels, but I don't know if we're going to reach level 9 so I can get another one after that.”  
“Why don't you ask Matsuri?” Yuzu suggested. Harumin scrunched up her nose a little.  
“I guess I could do that.” She answered reluctantly. “What about you? Are you missing any feats you want?” Yuzu shook her head.  
“Not really. Maybe improved two-weapon fighting, but that's about it.”  
“What's that one do?”  
“I get another attack with my off-hand weapon. But I can't get it until next level anyway, since you need another main hand attack.”  
“Oh, so you can steal the spotlight even more.” Harumin teased.  
“I don't mean to!”  
“I know! I don't mind! I just find it funny how much the VP bitches about it. She whines so much.” Harumin said. Yuzu smiled a little.  
“Don't be mean.” She chided.  
“I won't say it to her, I just find it kind of funny.”  
“Didn't she say she wanted to run something sometime? Maybe she'll be doing the next game.” Yuzu said. “And then we'll be in trouble.”  
“Don't worry, if she does that I'll just play a mage.” Harumin replied. “That way she'll have to be nice to me unless she wants to admit she picked a bad class.”  
“Well we can't both play casters, so I guess I'll have to play a fighter if you do that.”  
“Nope. No excuses. I'm going to hold you to this. You can play the priest. And then your sister can be the fighter.” Harumin teased. Yuzu took a moment to picture the arrangement. It might be nice being the one Mei relied on for healing instead of the other way around. And then she could rely on Mei for protection. The image of Mei in shining armour with a sword, pushing her behind her drifted across Yuzu's mind.  
“What? Why would she do that? That's ridiculous!” Yuzu protested quickly, trying to dismiss the intrusive idea. “Besides, if Mei was playing a fighting class, she'd probably pick a rogue! So it'd probably be Nene or Matsuri playing the fighter!”  
“Nene would make a good fighter. She picked up for you in the last fight after all.” Harumin agreed.  
“That was really brave of her. I was sure you guys were in trouble.” Yuzu replied.  
“I mean, it went down in one hit.” Harumin pointed out. “It's not like we were going to be in any danger.”  
“Well yeah, but she didn't know that, and she still charged at it. For all she knew we were only halfway through it.”  
“Yeah, yeah, I guess she was pretty brave.” Harumin conceded. “Hey, are you finished eating?”  
“Huh, oh, yeah.” Yuzu replied.  
“Wanna go do a little karaoke before we go home?” Harumin asked. Yuzu thought about it for a second.  
“No more than an hour, okay?”  
“Sounds good! You're the best Yuzucchi!” Harumin replied. The two of them got up, and threw their trash out, before leaving and heading off for the nearest karaoke place.

“I'm home!” Yuzu called out as she walked in. She'd spent half an hour doing karaoke with Harumin before coming home. All up they'd been out for almost two hours. Ume was sitting on the lounge, a beer in hand. Mei was no where to be seen.  
“Did you have a good time?” Ume called back as Yuzu walked into the living room.  
“Yeah. We had dinner then went out for some karaoke.” She replied.  
“I'm glad. Though I'm a little disappointed I missed out on hearing about your adventure.” Ume teased. Yuzu laughed.  
“Sorry Mama! I'll catch you up tomorrow, I promise!” She said. “Is Mei in the bath?”  
“She got out a few minutes ago.”  
“Alright, thanks!” Yuzu said, skipping off towards the bedroom. She walked in to find Mei at the desk, a brooding energy rolling off her.  
“You were out late.” She remarked coldly. Yuzu paused.  
“Oh, uh, yeah. Harumin wanted to go for karaoke. I said we could only go for half an hour though. But don't worry! I'll study as soon as I'm done with my bath!” She replied awkwardly. Mei seemed to be upset about something, but Yuzu wasn't sure what. It wasn't like she'd broken any school rules this time. Mei simply gave a small nod in response.  
“You should.” She agreed. Yuzu lingered for a second, staring at Mei in confusion, before tentatively grabbing her clothes and slipping into the bath. She quickly ran the bath and climbed in.  
“Geez, what's her problem anyway?” Yuzu muttered to herself as she sunk into the soothing hot water. “I wasn't out that late. Besides, she said I could do what I want!” She leaned back and closed her eyes, trying not to stress about Mei's grumpy mood. Maybe something else was bothering her. Maybe she was just reading into things that weren't there. She lay in the bath until the water lost it's edge and started to become unpleasant. By the time she walked back into the bedroom she'd rationalised away her concerns. Of course something else was bothering Mei.  
“Hey there.” Yuzu purred, as she walked up behind Mei and leaned down to wrap herself around Mei's shoulders. Mei turned her head away from her.  
“Your hair is still wet. Could you not drape it all over me.” She asked sharply. Yuzu pulled away.  
“Sorry. I just wanted to cheer you up.” She replied, taking a step back.  
“Why would you think I need cheering up?”  
“You've been acting weird all day, and you seemed upset when I got in, so I figured something must be bothering you.” Yuzu explained.  
“And what do you think that might be?” Mei asked. The question seemed like a trap.  
“Well um, I don't know.” Yuzu admitted. Mei sighed.  
“You're hopeless.” She said, climbing out of the chair and walking over to the window. “I spend all day trying to let you know, and you still can't work it out.”  
“You did?” Yuzu asked, thinking back across the day. Mei hadn't said anything was wrong. She'd seemed upset, but hadn't said anything about why. All she'd done was mention Yuzu's plans. “Was it because I went out?” She asked finally.  
“Took you long enough.” Mei remarked. “I thought you were smarter than that.”  
“You know your sister is a big idiot.” Yuzu said. “I'm sorry for going out with Harumin.” Mei paused, and turned to look at her.  
“I don't mind that you went out. Like I said, this morning, you studied enough yesterday. I'm upset you didn't ask me. Or tell me the night you made the plans.” She said, walking across the room towards Yuzu. “What if I had wanted to surprise you tonight?” She reached out and wrapped her arms around Yuzu, pressing their bodies together. Yuzu blushed, and gulped.  
“S-sorry.” She stammered. “Did you want to surprise me tonight?” Mei leaned up and kissed her for a second.  
“No.” She answered, pulling away. “But you'd be very disappointed if I had. So please tell me in the future.” Yuzu blinked, and collapsed backwards onto the bed with a loud sigh. Mei's mood seemed to have changed in a second. Her tone had that frustrating teasing twist to it that Yuzu had gotten so acquainted with.  
“Why do you have to be so mean to me?” Yuzu whined. She didn't actually expect an answer.  
“You're cute when you're flustered.” Mei replied. Yuzu smiled, and blushed a little. “Do you want help studying?”  
“Yes please!” Yuzu replied, sitting up quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one's a bit on the short side! I spent a long time trying to decide just what to say with it, and ultimately I couldn't think of anything to add that wouldn't just be there for the sake of being there. Which is unfortunate, because this chapter marks me passing 100 pages in the doc of this, and is my first update since passing 50 Kudos. So, thanks to everyone who's been reading along, I hope you've enjoyed it so far!
> 
> You also almost had to wait a day as I lost internet, but thankfully phone hotspots exist.


	15. Village Time Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls wait for their weapons to be enchanted, and spend some time actually getting to know the villagers.

Yuzu yawned. The studying with Mei had ended up running later than she'd anticipated, and the two had been up late. Across the table from her, Mei didn't seem remotely fussed by the lack of sleep.  
“Alright, let's get started?” Matsuri asked.  
“Yeah, if we don't I think Yuzu might fall asleep at the table.” Harumin teased.  
“Geez Taniguchi-Senpai, what did you do to her last night?” Matsuri asked with a mischievous grin. Across the table from her Nene turned bright red, and jumped up from the table to grab a tissue.  
“You brat. Stop giving Nene the wrong impression. We just did a little karaoke after dinner.” Harumin sighed.  
“Where did you go for dinner?” Mei asked. “Yuzu never mentioned it.”  
“Because you were busy being grumpy at me!” Yuzu protested.  
“Was I?” Mei asked. Yuzu stared at her in confusion. Mei's face was flat, almost unreadable, except for the faintest hint of a smile playing in her eyes. Yuzu knew she wouldn't win this exchange.  
“I guess not.” She replied with a sigh.  
“We just got McDonald's.” Harumin answered. “Anyway, can we start?”  
“Yeah!” Matsuri declared, as Nene settled back in the table, her nosebleed cleaned up.

 

*****

Donna placed her foot on the edge of the gazebo and gave it a gentle push. The gazebo began to drift away from the tree, taking Yuzu and the others back towards the village. Yuzu and Harumin waved goodbye to Donna, until she finally stopped waving back, and walked back into her hut. From there they turned back to find Nene sitting on the small bench that ran around the middle of the gazebo. She was looking firmly at her feet, and trembling a little.  
“Are you okay?” Yuzu asked her. Nene nodded.  
“Ye-yeah! I'm just...not good with heights.” She replied.  
“Then how'd you handle being in the tree?” Harumin asked.  
“That was different, all the branches made it feel like I'd have something to catch if I fell.” Nene explained.  
“And the gazebo last night?”  
“I couldn't see the ground, so it was bearable.”  
“Why didn't you mention it sooner?” Yuzu asked.  
“I was hoping I'd be okay! I didn't want you thinking I was a coward...” Nene replied. Yuzu sat beside her and put an arm around her.  
“I don't think you're a coward. I'm scared of a lot of things too.” Yuzu told her. Nene smiled.  
“Thank you.” She said softly.

 

*****

“I still don't get why she didn't seem scared yesterday.” Harumin remarked.  
“Yeah. It's almost like Nene wasn't scared of heights until this morning.” Matsuri teased. Nene scowled.  
“I just...wanted to add some flavour to her!” She replied.

 

*****

The trip back to the village was largely uneventful. Nene spent the entire time looking at the floor in the middle, and the rest of the girls took turns sitting beside her. When she wasn't sitting with Nene, Yuzu leant over the edge with either Harumin or Mei, watching the world float by. It was a breathtaking view, marred only slightly by how much of it was of a swamp. Yuzu took the opportunity to look out at the ocean a lot this time, having been blocked by the tree last night. It spread off to the horizon, glistening and pure, with no land in sight, and it became clear to her just how far from home she really was here. But eventually the gazebo came to a halt, and slowly descended.  
“Hey, there's the village!” Harumin called. Yuzu walked over to look off her side. It was still a short walk, but the village was clearly visible. Judging by the crowd forming in the town square, they were clearly visible too. The gazebo touched down, and the group dismounted, heading for the village.  
“Oh, it's just our heroes, returning in a flying carriage.” Matsuri announced with a touch of sarcasm as they approached the gathered crowd. “So we can all calm down and go home for the day.” On her words most of the crowd started to disperse, though a group of kids hung around. Yuzu recognised one of them as the young girl who'd spoken to them when they arrived.  
“Do we have to?” She asked Matsuri. Matsuri nodded.  
“They've been hard at work taming the jungle, and I'm sure they'd just like to rest.” She replied.  
“If they want to join us in the tavern, we can entertain them for a bit.” Yuzu offered.  
“Really?” Matsuri asked, quite surprised. “You don't want to rest?”  
“We encountered...a very old, but friendly, native.” Mei announced. “Who offered us a little hospitality, and a ride home. We'll be spending the next few weeks here while she prepares some supplies for us.”  
“I...see.” Matsuri replied uncertainly. “Well, if you want to, sure.”  
“Yes!” The girl cheered. The group laughed, and followed Matsuri, and the children, back to the tavern.

The next few weeks passed peacefully. The group spent their days helping around town. Yuzu helped out with the newest round of construction that had started, following the logging from the past week. Mei meanwhile busied herself with tending to any of the sick and wounded around town. A lot of people found themselves getting hurt, but with only a single alchemist in town and a limited knowledge of the local herbs, most minor pains had to be endured. In addition to healing the sick, Mei gave a weekly sermon, and tried her best to teach those who were capable how to heal themselves.  
Nene latched onto the local hunters and alchemist, helping the hunters find game, and scouting the surrounding area for sources of herbs the alchemist could use. Himeko busied herself with the children, teaching them to read and write, as well as some history, geography and a little bit of magical theory when she could get away with it.  
Out of everyone, Harumin had the hardest time adjusting. At first she spent her days sulking, or pestering Yuzu to come and do things with her. She'd taken to wearing the enchanted hat everywhere, and the way she could project her voice made her a hit with the kids, much to Himeko's frustration. Eventually Himeko suggested she help out with the lessons, and with some pleading from the kids, she agreed. After that the lessons became a bit more morally flexible, but the overall engagement of the children increased, and their parents didn't seem to mind.  
At the end of each day the group would relax in the tavern, where the village folk would gather to hear stories from them. It wasn't long before they'd ran out of stories, but the villages didn't seem to mind hearing about the same adventures again, and each time they'd bring more questions. After she'd told the story of clearing the ruins for the third time, and a young man asked a question about the garden at the end, it occurred to Yuzu they were probably listening to the stories to learn more about the island.

“Should we tell them about the...not dying thing?” Yuzu asked one night, as she stared at the ceiling in bed.  
“I don't know.” Mei replied. She was sitting at the desk, writing one of her sermons for when she had to leave again. “It seems like something they should know, but it may just cause them to panic.” Yuzu nodded.  
“Yeah...we should talk with the others about it.” Yuzu suggested.  
“Would you even listen to them?” Mei teased. Yuzu sat up and frowned at her.  
“Yes!” She replied. Mei put her quill down and turned to look over the back of the chair at her.  
“Really?” She asked. Yuzu hesitated.  
“Maybe.” She conceded. Mei sighed, and shook her head a little.  
“Do what you like. You already know I don't have a strong opinion on the matter.”  
“Alright. I'll go see the others!” Yuzu declared, as she hopped up. She visited their rooms, asking everyone to meet her downstairs, before heading down. The tavern was dimly lit, with only the dwindling embers of the fireplace to light the room. Yuzu walked over and sat in front of it, basking in the gentle warmth. She didn't have to wait long before she was joined by the others.  
“What are we doing down here?” Himeko asked as she arrived.  
“I was thinking about the island's magic, and if we should tell the villagers.” Yuzu explained. “And I figured we should all talk about it together.”  
“Of course not.” Himeko answered. “They wouldn't understand the implications, it could cause a panic, and even if it didn't, it wouldn't be worth anything to know right now anyway.”  
“I think we should.” Nene declared. “It's the right thing to do, and if I was living here, I'd want to know as soon as possible.”  
“What would you do if you did know?” Himeko asked. “Since you know now, do you plan to stay here?”  
“Well I...no, I don't.” Nene replied. “And I don't know what I'd do if I lived here.”  
“Then what good would telling you do?” Himeko demanded. Nene hesitated a moment.  
“It builds trust!” She declared with a surprising amount of ferocity. “It's the right thing to do, and by not keeping secrets, we let the villagers know we're looking out for them!”  
“I hate to say it, but I agree with Himeko on this one.” Harumin spoke up finally. “Getting the villagers to trust us is great and all, but we could just as easily ruin the entire job. Not to mention we don't know the cause. For all we know, it could somehow not affect any of them, in which case we're worrying them for nothing.” Nene visibly deflated.  
“I...didn't think about that.” She admitted.  
“I thought it was just common sense, otherwise I'd have mentioned it.” Himeko declared.

 

*****

“Sure you did, VP.” Harumin teased.

 

*****

Yuzu frowned at the group. “So...we shouldn't tell them?” She asked.  
“That's what I think, yes.” Himeko replied. Harumin nodded.  
“Same.” She said.  
“I...trust your judgement Yuzu.” Nene said softly. She looked quite downtrodden from the conversation. Yuzu sighed, and nodded.  
“Alright! It'll be our secret!” She declared.

The last week passed uneventfully. The girls continued with their usual jobs around town, and found that overall the townsfolk were becoming more and more welcoming of them. Yuzu would call most of them friends, though with the exception of Nene, the others seemed to be keeping a bit more of a distance from them.  
Finally, the day of their departure came, and the group geared up to get back on the gazebo. The atmosphere had changed during their stay, and while their past preparations had been watched with some vague disinterest, today the village came out in force to see them off.  
“Be safe!”  
“Come back with more stories!”  
“Drinks will be on me when you get back!”  
“I'm looking forward to it!” Yuzu called back to the crowd, waving enthustiastically.  
“How long do we have to do this?” Himeko asked quietly.  
“Until Yuzu gets bored.” Harumin replied.  
“That will never happen.” Mei announced dismissively, before starting towards the gazebo. This got a laugh from Harumin, who started to follow. Yuzu looked over her shoulder as the rest of them started to walk away, before looking back at the villagers, smiling and waving at her. She frowned, before jogging a few steps forward and clearing her throat.  
“Everyone! We think the island has an enchantment that stops things from dying of old age!” She shouted. “We'll do our best to find out what's causing it, and stop it, if you want us to!” She bowed, before turning and running after the others. She arrived to find everyone else already on the gazebo.  
“You're impossible.” Mei remarked with a shake of her head.  
“Why on earth would you think that's a good idea?” Himeko demanded. Nene and Harumin both sat on the lip of the gazebo, smiling at her. Yuzu smiled back sheepishly.  
“I just...I didn't think it was right to keep it a secret. So, let's jet?”

 

*****

“I don't think they'd say jet.” Harumin teased. Yuzu shrugged.  
“Oh well.”

 

*****

Once they were all settled on the gazebo, with Nene safely settled in the middle, they tapped the central pedestal, and the gazebo began to drift back up into the sky, before slowly floating towards the tree. The trip back didn't take too long, and soon the group was walking in to Donna's hut. Donna looked up from the low desk that sat to one side of her hut and smiled.  
“Oh! You're back!” She exclaimed.  
“Yup we are!” Yuzu replied, grinning. “Are we too soon?”  
“Not at all! I was just finishing up on the leather armour, then I'll be finished.” Donna replied.

 

*****

“That's awfully lucky.” Himeko muttered.  
“Shut up.” Matsuri replied, drawing a small chuckle from Yuzu, Harumin and Nene.

 

*****

“That's great!” Yuzu said. “We'll...go chat somewhere else while we wait I guess?” Donna shook her head.  
“It's fine! I'd welcome the company. I'm almost finished.” She explained.  
“Alright.” The group settled down around the table, silence falling over them apart from the gentle humming from Donna. Eventally, Himeko spoke up.  
“Is there anything else you'd like help with?” She asked.  
“What do you mean?” Donna replied.  
“I mean like, do you need anything like the Hydra dealt with?” Himeko explained.  
“Oh, no, not a thing.” Donna answered. “Why?”  
“We were just looking for an idea where to go explore next.” Himeko answered.  
“Shouldn't we go up the mountain next?” Yuzu asked. Donna paused for a moment.  
“Why would you want to do that?” She inquired tersely.  
“Well...I'd like to understand why things don't die. And since you went up the mountain and found the branch hand thing, I think we might find answers going up there ourselves. Plus, you said there were more ruins up there, so we should explore those for threats too.” Yuzu explained. Donna sighed, and nodded.  
“I suppose that makes sense, yes.” She agreed.  
“Is something the matter?” Mei asked. Donna shook her head.  
“No, no, going up the mountain is just a bit of a sore spot for me, even now.” She explained. “The memory of the injuries doesn't get any better.”  
“I see. I'm sorry.” Mei replied softly.  
“Really? Were you the one who injured me?” Donna teased.  
“No. I suppose I'm not sorry after all.” Mei replied calmly. Donna smirked.  
“If you're going up the mountain, I wish you all the best. Just be careful, please. It's dangerous up there.” She said.  
“We will!” Yuzu declared. The conversation died down for a bit, drifting into idle chatter for the next hour until finally Donna was done.  
“There you go!” She announced, standing up and handing Harumin the leather armour she'd left behind. “The rest of your gear is in that chest.” She nodded to a chest across the hut. “And the items you left to be identified are completely handled. They're nothing too special though.”  
“Well, what are they?” Yuzu asked, leaning forward while Donna rummaged in a small pouch beside her workstation. She pulled out the seven rings and amulet that had been left behind, each now bearing a small paper tag.  
“This one is a ring of strength.” She said, sliding it forward. “And this is a ring of constitution.”  
“Dibs!” Yuzu called out.  
“I don't think anyone was going to fight you for it.” Harumin teased.  
“And then we have two rings of dexterity.” Donna continued, sliding the rings forward.  
“Mine!” Harumin announced, snatching one of them.  
“Could I have the other one?” Nene asked, reaching for it slowly.  
“Yeah, no one else needs it right?” Yuzu asked. Himeko shook her head.  
“It would be nice, but Nene will use it more.” She conceded.  
“Then we have two rings of intelligence, one ring of wisdom, and one amulet of wisdom.” Donna finished.  
“Obviously, Mei and I should take one each of those.” Himeko announced, reaching for a ring and the amulet.  
“I um...I'd like the ring of Wisdom...if I may.” Nene spoke up.  
“Mei needs Wisdom for her spells, and it helps me with my mana.” Himeko replied with a small scowl.  
“I think it would be better for Nene to have the amulet.” Mei announced calmly.

 

*****

“What? Why?” Himeko asked.  
“Nene's damage scales off her wisdom, doesn't it?” Mei asked. Nene nodded.  
“Yeah.” She said softly. Mei nodded.  
“Your damage scales off intelligence. You only get mana regeneration out of wisdom, but that wouldn't be enough to really impact your casting, would it?” Mei asked Himeko. Himeko paused, and flipped through her papers.  
“It would give me an extra 2 mana a turn...but a Firebolt costs me 8.” She admitted.  
“What's your lowest mana cost spell cost?” Yuzu asked.  
“4.” Himeko replied. Mei nodded.  
“So you can still cast when you run out of mana, and with some of your spells costing almost 50 mana, I don't think an extra 2 a turn will mean much. But Nene dealing an extra 2 damage, along with getting a bonus to hit, will add up.” Mei announced.  
“I have two attacks too.” Nene mentioned. “So it's more like an extra 4 damage.” Mei nodded.  
“I apologise for forgetting that.” She replied. Himeko sighed.  
“Alright, alright, I'll just take a ring of intelligence. They're all a +4 right?”  
“That's right!” Matsuri replied.  
“Do they stack?” Harumin asked. “Because I could totally steal Nene's ring...”  
“No, they don't.” Matsuri replied. Nene looked at Harumin with a look of utter devastation.  
“Don't be mean Harumin.” Yuzu chided her.  
“I was joking! I'm not going to steal from anyone!” Harumin announced. “In the party, at least.”

 

*****

“Nene can have it.” Himeko declared, sliding the wisdom amulet towards the grinning Nene.  
“Thank you!” She replied.  
“It's just what's best for the group.” Himeko deflected.  
“Oh, that reminds me. Yuzu, I'm afraid one of your weapons was already enchanted enough that I could only add fire, I hope that's okay.” Donna announced.  
“That's fine! Thank you!” Yuzu replied. Donna nodded.  
“Will you be staying long?” She asked.  
“We...didn't think about it.” Yuzu admitted.  
“Can you make the gazebo take us to the mountain? Not particularly far up, but enough to spare us the early climb.” Mei asked.  
“I can do that yes. The gazebos can't climb too high, but they could drop you off near the waterfall on the mountain.” Donna offered.  
“Oh! I remember that waterfall!” Nene exclaimed. “That would be great!”  
“In that case, we should stay another night.” Mei announced.  
“Oh thank Koralia.” Donna replied with a smile. “It's been lonely since you left.”

 

*****

“Who's Koralia?” Harumin asked.  
“She's the god of the Frostborn.” Matsuri explained.  
“That's not quite correct.” Mei said. “But I suppose we don't have time for a lesson right now.”  
“Explain it over lunch!” Yuzu suggested. Mei nodded.  
“That's a good idea, yes.” She replied.

 

*****

The group made small talk with Donna while she prepared dinner. They mostly told her about the village, having not done anything else since they'd seen her last. Donna didn't seem to mind, and listened with interest to them talk about the villagers.  
“They sound like lovely children.” Donna remarked, after Himeko had finished talking about the kids she was teaching. “Perhaps I'll visit the village after all.”  
“I'm sure they'd love to meet you!” Yuzu replied. “We told them all about you.”  
“Oh my, I hope you didn't say anything too embarrassing.” Donna joked.  
“Yuzu oversold you a bit.” Mei replied.  
“What did she say?” Donna asked.  
“Something about you flying, and having the strength of ten men.” Mei answered with a small smile.  
“I didn't say anything like that!” Yuzu protested. Everyone chuckled softly, and Yuzu sighed.  
“Well, I'm sure if I took the time, I could be ready to meet all those expectations.” Donna joked. The conversation drifted onwards while dinner was served, and eaten.

The conversation carried on into the night, before finally everyone headed up to sleep out on the gazebos once more. Yuzu spent a little time standing next to Mei, just staring off into the distance. After that however, they went to bed, and rested until the morning. They had a quick breakfast, while Donna organised a final gazebo for them.  
“I'm sorry I can't let this one wait for you.” Donna announced. “I don't know how long you'll be, or even if you'll be taking it back.”  
“That's okay!” Yuzu replied. “Just getting us out of the swamp is more than enough!” Donna laughed.  
“What I can do is send a gazebo out to the village, if you'd like.” She offered.  
“That would be very appreciated, thank you.” Mei cut Yuzu off, bowing her head. Donna nodded.  
“Alright, happy trip!” She placed her foot on the edge of the gazebo and gave it another push, sending it floating away. This time it drifted down quickly, though not quite fast enough to make keeping balance hard. Eventually it settled close to 100 feet above the ground, and floated towards their destination.  
“I guess teasing Nene about the heights paid off.” Harumin remarked.  
“It's still too high.” Nene complained softly from the centre. The trip to the cliff took about half the day. Yuzu spent most of the time staring at the terrain below them, trying to match what she saw to the map, or filling in blank spaces. By the time they arrived, the map had become significantly more detailed along this one section. The gazebo came to a stop in front of the cliff, necessitating a small jump to the ground. Yuzu jumped first, followed by Harumin and Nene. Yuzu stepped forward to catch Mei or Himeko as needed.

 

*****

“Should we roll for this?” Mei asked. Matsuri thought for a moment, looking over at Yuzu. She gave her a quick, cheeky grin.  
“Yeah, roll to see if either of you crash into Yuzu.” She said. Mei nodded, and picked up her dice instantly, while Yuzu looked away to hide the sudden flush on her face.  
“19. What do I add?” Mei asked.  
“Strength modifier.” Matsuri replied. “But that's a pass, you don't crash into Yuzu. What about you Eyebrow-Chan?”  
“11.” Himeko answered with a loud sigh.

*****

Mei hopped gracefully into Yuzu's waiting arms. Yuzu caught her, and placed her down on the ground, before turning to catch Himeko. She found Himeko had already jumped, and she couldn't quite get her hands up in time before Himeko crashed into her, bowling both of them over. Harumin burst out laughing.  
“It's not funny!” Himeko protested as she climbed to her feet. Yuzu followed suit.  
“Yeah. Why'd you jump so soon anyway?” She asked.  
“I thought the gazebo was starting to move.” Himeko answered defensively.  
“It clearly wasn't.” Harumin remarked, nodding to the still very stationary gazebo.  
“Everyone.” Mei called softly.  
“Well it's hard to tell when you're the only one floating on it.” Himeko insisted.  
“Everyone!” Mei raised her voice. Yuzu looked over at her.  
“What is it Mei?” She asked. Mei nodded forwards, down the river. Yuzu followed her gaze, until it lay on a large ruined building, a short distance up the river. It was the largest building they'd seen since arriving.  
“It seems we've got out first objective.” Mei announced.  
“Well, let's get to work!” Yuzu declared, taking a few steps forward. Harumin grabbed the back of her pelt skirt, and pulled her to a stop.  
“Not so fast. We should make camp while I scout.” She announced.  
“Harumin's right.” Mei agreed.  
“I think she's just trying to get out of setting up the camp.” Himeko accused. Harumin shrugged as she walked towards the building.  
“I can't help it that my job leaves me unavailable for the grunt work.” She teased “Besides, don't Nene and Yuzu do most of the work?”  
“I provide valuable assistance!” Himeko replied, but Harumin was already too far gone to hear her.  
“Let's get to work!” Yuzu declared. They spent the next hour setting up camp, while Harumin was off scouting. Finally she returned, and flopped down next to the fire.  
“Alright, you all ready to hear what I found?” Harumin asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Onwards and upwards!
> 
> There were a couple of continuity errors when I started writing this that thankfully I caught and fixed, though there might still be a typo from them. Either way going forward I'm going to make a point of being more meticulous about the gear each girl has, and make a point of not doing a game with magic items to keep track of for Volume 2 because that was a mistake.
> 
> As always, feedback is appreciated! Until next time!


	16. Love Burns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party takes their first steps into the new ruins, and find disaster lurking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm SO sorry that I missed last update! I got a job that lasted like...a week, and took up all my writing time when I was going to be finishing this update. And then I moved on to my next project and just like...forgot Citrus Campaign was due for an update until a few days ago?
> 
> Anyway, I apologize for it running a bit shorter than usual. It just...felt like a good stopping point, really. Hopefully this is enough to satisfy you until the next update. Also, Citrus Plus comes out this month, which is going to be exciting. I'd hoped to be a little closer to the end by now, but even if I had somehow finished this story, I'd still be waiting until we were a few issues into Citrus Plus before I worked on Volume 2.
> 
> Speaking of Volume 2! With my other project well under way, we might be seeing some changes to Volume 2. Mostly, the other project is a brand new system I'm working on, so they might be playing that instead of the poorly defined system I had in mind before. Maybe. Anyway, feedback is appreciated as always!

“Alright! So I didn't get to look at everything, but I got the basic gist of the layout.” Harumin began to explain once everyone had settled around the fire. She had a small pile of twigs beside her, which she started arranging on the ground as she spoke. “There's a small antechamber, which leads into a big central room. You walk into a lower, middle section, but around the side is a raised section, with a bunch of doors heading out, two on either side, and a big sealed door on the far side of the room. Any questions so far?”  
“Did you cover all of it?” Himeko asked. Harumin shook her head.  
“Not even close. I looked inside each door that was open. The front two have stairs up. I went up one, and it leads to a second story balcony of the central room. There was another door above the big sealed door up there, but not much else. The stairs went up higher, but I didn't go up any further. From the outside it seems like they just lead up into the spires on the building.” Harumin nodded to the building. Yuzu looked over at it. Now that she had it explained a bit better, the two spires rising on either side of the central chunk of the building were more pronounced.  
“Did you see anything else?” Mei asked. Harumin nodded, and began placing more sticks.  
“I scouted down this wing of the dungeon. It was a long hallway with a bunch of rooms on either side. It ends in a large room, but I saw something moving around in there, so I doubled back. I poked my head down another one, but it looked to be the same, so I came back to report on my findings.” She finished, looking over at Yuzu. “So, what's the plan boss?”  
“We have time to at least get started on some proper exploring.” Yuzu declared. “We can look at the closed door at least!”  
“Can I have a few minutes?” Himeko asked. “I want to cast a spell into the circlet and then wait until I've recovered my mana.” Yuzu nodded.  
“Sure, we can do that. We should all make sure we've got everything ready in case things go wrong.” She announced. Himeko spent a minute thinking things over, before casting a spell into her circlet. The others went through their supplies, readying the potions that Donna had given them, and making sure all their new magic items were comfortable. Nene had a small problem of the necklace she was wearing flopping when she jumped, but she ended up tucking it into her armour, where it mostly behaved.  
“Okay, I'm ready.” Himeko declared finally, getting to her feet.  
“Then let's go!” Yuzu declared.

The ruins were dank, but surprisingly well lit. Holes in the roof let sunlight in, illuminating the room enough to reveal just how mossy and overgrown it was.  
“You didn't say anything about the moss.” Himeko complained to Harumin as they looked around from the entrance.  
“I figured it was implied. You can see how overgrown it is from the outside.” Harumin replied. “Stop being such a baby, it's just a little moss. It's not like a plant is going to kill you.”  
“Fine.” Himeko snapped. She started walking forward with her head held high. The others followed along. Yuzu skipped a few steps forward to get in front of her, in case anything went wrong. The room matched Harumin's description near perfectly. The only thing she'd neglected to mention was the large circular pattern on the floor in the middle of the room. It was very mossed over however, and Yuzu couldn't blame her for missing it.  
“Hey Himeko, could you burn the moss off the floor here?” Yuzu asked.  
“What do you take me for?” Himeko demanded. “A cleaner?”  
“I think you're a really talented mage who can do this way faster than I can.” Yuzu replied with a smile. Himeko sighed loudly.  
“I suppose when you put it that way, you're not wrong.” She admitted. Despite the frustration in her tone, she had a look of pure satisfaction on her face. “Move out of the way please.” Yuzu nodded, and stepped aside. Himeko took a half step forward, and took a deep breath, before leaning forward and blowing flames across the mossy stone. When the flames cleared, the moss was far less prevalent. What remained were just charred remains, and Yuzu easily kicked them aside.

*****

Matsuri handed a note to Mei. She read it, and rolled a dice in silence, before adding to the note, and passing it on to Nene. Nene did the same, before passing the note to Harumin. Yuzu leaned over to read it, but Harumin snatched it away.  
“This isn't for you Yuzucchi.” She teased, as she rolled her own dice. She then awkwardly scrawled on the note, before folding it and handing it back to Matsuri.

*****

“Hey, do you hear that?” Harumin asked.  
“Hear what?” Yuzu asked, walking back towards Harumin, while Himeko sat down to take a short rest and regain her mana.  
“Dunno, sounded like...ropes on rock?” She replied uncertainly. Nene nodded.  
“I heard it.” She announced. “It sounded a bit more leathery though.” Harumin thought for a moment, before nodding.  
“Yeah, that sounds right.”  
“Where'd it come from?” Yuzu asked. Harumin frowned.  
“I...think it was in this room.” She said. “It's hard to tell, the walls make sounds echo too much.”  
“In that case, we should be on our guard, and assume the worst.” Mei said softly. “And stop talking so loud.”  
“Right.” Yuzu whispered back. “Did you see anything here before?” She looked at Harumin, who shook her head.  
“Nothing. But I was sticking to the edges. If there's something hiding in here I might have missed it.”  
“Alright, let's stay by the entrance while we wait and see what it is?” Yuzu suggested. Mei opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by a loud scream from Himeko. The group whipped around to see Himeko in the middle of the room, a long, thick, leathery tendril wrapped around her neck. It ascended up to the ceiling, where Yuzu could see a large, bulbous plant latched to the roof.  
“Nevermind. We've got to save Himeko!” She declared.

*****

“Roll initiative!” Matsuri announced gleefully.  
“You are way too happy about this.” Harumin grumbled at her. The girls all rolled their dice, and reported numbers while Matsuri looked over her notes.  
“It's the monster first, then Eyebrow-Chan.” Matsuri declared. Himeko huffed at her.

*****

The plant shuddered and spluttered, spewing a ring of thick, green liquid fell from it, splattering to the floor in a wide circle ring around Himeko. She kicked and squirmed desperately as the tendril began to slowly retract, lifting her off the floor and up through the air towards the waiting creature.

*****

“So, what can I do?” Himeko asked.  
“You can either struggle against it with a strength check, or you can attempt to cast a spell. If it has verbal and somatic components you need to make a concentration check to co-ordinate then while you're grappled.” Matsuri replied. Himeko leafed through her spell list for a moment.

*****

Despite the bindings on her throat, Himeko managed to croak out a spell, sending a line of flames dancing up the tendril, and through the body of the plant.  
Mei stepped forward, running towards Himeko, before coming to a stop in front of the green liquid.  
“This looks like it might be acid. Be careful.” She called back. Yuzu followed her forward, and came to a stop in front of the acid. It looked to be about 10 feet across, and she wasn't sure if she could manage to jump it. Not without something higher to jump off of at least.  
“Yuzucchi!” Harumin called, running forward. “Boost me!”  
“Huh?” Yuzu replied, looking over at her charging friend. Then it clicked. She dropped down a bit, and held her hands in front of her, cupped together. Harumin jumped up into Yuzu's grasp, before being hurled into the air, and over the acid. She flipped through the air, and collided with Himeko, wrapping her arms around the dangling girl, and leaving them both suspended in the air.  
“What are you doing?” Himeko protested loudly.  
“Saving you!” Harumin replied. The plant shuddered again, and hoisted Himeko further up, dragging Harumin with her now. The plants bulb unfurled, revealing a giant mouth, sticky, sappy saliva drooling from it. The saliva coated the ground below, as well as Himeko and Harumin.  
Nene drew her bow, and quickly loosed two arrows at the plant. They both connected, sinking into the plant.

*****

“Okay, so I don't have favoured enemy, so it's just my dexterity and my dice, right?” Nene asked. Matsuri nodded. Nene rolled her three new dice. “7 on my bow, 2 fire, 4 air. Which makes for 16 damage on the first one.”  
“And your second attack?”  
“12.”  
“It's fascinating to think how little damage you were all doing at the beginning of the game.” Mei remarked.

*****

The plant let out a loud screech, and shivered, flailing the girls around. Himeko kicked, and struggled for a moment, before looking up.  
“Keep your head down.” She snapped at Harumin, before taking a deep breath. Harumin ducked her head down, and Himeko blew hard, spewing flames through the air, coating the plant and the tendril with the fire. The circlet on her head flashed for a second, and a second plume of flames exploded from it as Himeko's faltered, further burning the plant.

*****

“So that's 55 damage total.” Himeko announced, looking very smug.  
“That's pretty impressive.” Yuzu remarked.  
“Of course it is. It'll be even better when I can do it to a group of enemies.” She replied.  
“Mei-San, it's your turn.” Matsuri announced.  
“I'll hold my turn.” Mei replied quickly.

*****

Yuzu glanced around, looking for an easy way across the acid. There wasn't one. She couldn't safely get to her friends. But by the looks of things they needed her. So she took a half step back, and charged across the acid with a loud battlecry. The acid burned her feet, and the fumes coming up from it scorched her skin. Her time on the acid only lasted a few seconds, but those few seconds hurt a lot. The pain eased suddenly however, as Mei's voice drifted across the room in a soft prayer, healing some of her pain.  
Despite the pain, Yuzu didn't stop her charge. If the tendril went any higher up, it'd be out of her reach. So she jumped, and swung an axe at it. She clipped the edge of it, splashing more of the acid on the ground. Harumin fumbled with her daggers for a second, before simply loosing one, and letting it fall. As it fell she swung her and up, and formed it into a grip. The dagger re-materialised in her hand, and she jammed it into the tendril.  
The plant howled and shuddered, flailing the girls around wildly. It slammed them into a nearby wall, before hoisting them even close to it's mouth. At the rate it was going, they were going to get eaten in a second.  
Nene loosed two arrows quickly. They both hit the central body of the plant again. It let out another pained noise at the fire. Himeko scowled for a second, thinking, before trying to cast Scorch again. This time she focused the spell on the tendril holding her and Harumin up. The plant screamed in agony, as the flames danced across it's flesh, and a portion of the tendril snapped, dropping the two girls to the ground. Harumin landed first, with Himeko landing on top of her with a loud grunt.

*****

“Geez VP, what have you been eating?” Harumin teased. Himeko scowled at her.

*****

“Now what do we do?” Yuzu asked loudly.  
“It probably isn't a threat to us. We could just stand down here and pick away at it.” Himeko announced smugly. As if in response, the plant shuddered again, and spewed acid directly down on them. Yuzu and Himeko managed to jump out of the way, but Harumin was still climbing to her feet as it happened. The acid fell directly on her, and she screamed in pain.  
“Get to cover!” Yuzu called. She grabbed Harumin, the acid dripping off her burning her own skin, and ran for the door. In the back of her mind she registered the others moving, but they weren't a priority. All that mattered now was getting Harumin to water. She sprinted down the front stairs, and across the grass to the river. She came to the edge and hurled Harumin into the water. Harumin had stopped screaming as they'd run, settling down to pained sobs. Yuzu watched her friend hit the water, and for a moment she just drifted down stream, not moving. Then she emerged from the water, and weakly swum to the side, leaning on the shore line and catching her breath.  
“Are you okay?” Yuzu asked softly as she approached. Harumin looked up at her, and for a moment she smiled. Then she broke down crying.  
“That really hurt Yuzu!” She exclaimed. “It still hurts...” Yuzu reached down to her potions, and fumbled for a moment before producing one of them.  
“Here, drink this, it should help.” She replied. Harumin took the potion and downed it, while Yuzu flopped onto the ground beside her. Once she was done drinking, Harumin let out a loud, satisfied sigh.  
“That does help a bit...” She replied. The two girls sat there in silence for a few minutes, while Harumin's wounds healed from the potion. “This isn't what I expected when I came out here.” Harumin said finally.  
“What were you expecting?” Yuzu asked. Harumin shrugged.  
“I dunno. A couple of generic evil monsters, and a lot of looting.” She answered. “Easy money, y'know?” Yuzu laughed.  
“I...wasn't expecting something like that when we came here either.” She admitted.  
“Well what were you expecting?” Harumin asked, her tone teasing.  
“I was expecting we'd fight big, scary monsters. The kind we could brag about over campfires, y'know?” Yuzu answered. “Not...weird plants that try and eat my friends, or spit acid all over them.” Harumin laughed softly, and shook her head.  
“I love you Yuzu.” She remarked. “When we set out, I kinda thought you were gonna be an easy mark. But instead you ended up being my best friend.” Yuzu smiled.  
“I thought you were going to be a selfish bitch when we met.” She replied.  
“And now?”  
“Now I know I was right. But you're also my best friend too.” The two of them laughed. They sat in silence for a minute longer, before finally Harumin climbed out of the river.  
“That helped a lot. Thanks Yuzucchi.” She replied, taking a moment to look over herself. Her armour was perfectly fine. The pouch she kept on her hip hadn't survived the acid however, and the lockpicks she kept inside were totally destroyed. “Geez, this sucks.” Harumin grumbled.  
“Do you have spares?” Yuzu asked. Harumin looked at her like she was an idiot.  
“Let's get going. I'm sure the others are waiting for us.” She declared, as she started walking back to the ruins. Yuzu jumped to her feet.  
“Hey, wait, you didn't answer me!” Yuzu protested. Harumin ignored her the whole walk back to the ruins. The front room was a disaster. Pools of acid littered the floor. The two girls turned to the left immediately, and climbed up onto the raised sections. There the second floor landing sheltered them from the plant. The found the other girls all sitting against the far wall. At the sight of them, Nene jumped to her feet.  
“Are you okay Harumin?” She asked. Harumin nodded.  
“Yeah, Yuzu fixed me right up.” Harumin replied.  
“Yuzu...”

*****

Nene's face went bright red.  
“Oh my god, it was nothing like that!” Harumin protested. Nene sat there a moment longer, before jumping out of her seat.  
“One second!” She shouted, as she ran for the box of tissues. She came back a moment later, holding a tissue to her nose. Mei sighed softly.

*****

“How did she fix you up?” Mei asked politely.  
“She gave me one of her potions. After throwing me in the river.” Harumin explained. Himeko laughed.  
“I wish I'd been there to see that.” She replied. Harumin scowled.  
“Well, I'm not going to do it again, but if you want, I'm sure Yuzucchi would love to re-enact the moment with you.” She said. Himeko opened her mouth to respond.  
“We should leave the banter until we've made a plan for that plant.” Mei cut her off.  
“Right.” Yuzu agreed. “Um...how are we going to kill it?”  
“We could just walk upstairs and let Nene shoot it.” Harumin suggested. There was a long pause.  
“Can we just do that?” Yuzu asked finally.

*****

Yuzu looked at Matsuri.  
“Is that allowed?” She asked. Matsuri nodded.  
“Of course it is. If you want to cheat out a win, you can do that.” She answered.  
“I feel like you're trying to guilt us out of doing it.” Harumin declared.

*****

“I don't see why not.” Nene replied.  
“Well, let's do it!” Yuzu declared.

The group slowly made their way into one of the side corridors, and up the stairs. The encounter with the plant had left them aggressively cautious, and so they moved slowly, checking the floors, walls and ceiling every step of the way. They reached the top of the stairs without issue, and slowly walked out onto the landing.  
“Where'd it go?” Yuzu asked, as they looked around. There was no sign of the plant anywhere. Mei sighed.  
“Lean over the edge and look up.” She said. Yuzu walked to the edge and leaned forward. From this position it became clear that the ceiling wasn't flat. In the centre lay a dome, which contained the plant. It looked to have settled down, and retracted most of it's body back in. “How are we going to hit that?” Yuzu asked.  
“I could sit on the edge and probably hit it with spells.” Himeko offered. “It would be clumsy though.” Yuzu nodded.  
“What about you Nene? Could you sit down and shoot it?” She asked. Nene shook her head.  
“Not sitting, no. My bow is too big.” She answered. She bit her lip, thinking for a moment. “But...if you held me while I leant forward, I could probably shoot at it like that.” Yuzu grinned.  
“Let's do that then!” She declared.


	17. Love Lights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY EVERYONE!
> 
> Life just sorta happened at me, and work came to a grinding halt. BUT! I now have a solid job sorted out, and life is going better, so here we are, back on the Citrus Campaign Train!
> 
> Also after a bunch more reading I've decided to just stop bothering with summaries. Let me know if you hate that.

The actual death of the plant was almost disappointing with how straight forward it was. Nene leant over the edge like they'd planned, and after a few tries to get her positioned correctly, she started shooting up at the plant. She kept going until eventually it shrivelled up, seemingly dead. It took them a while, but eventually it was done. Once the plant had been defeated, they set in for another short rest while Himeko recovered her mana.

“What's our next plan?” Mei asked as Himeko's rest approached an end.

“We want to get the door open, right?” Yuzu replied, looking around at the group for confirmation.

“Well, that's where the treasure would be.” Harumin replied. Mei sighed softly.

“Is money all you think about?”

“No. I also think about what I'm going to buy with the money.” Harumin answered, holding a hand up as she started to count. “Delicious foods. Cute clothes. New daggers.”

“Why do you need new daggers?” Himeko demanded. Harumin frowned.

“Well, I don't any more. But sometimes I'd lose them. I can't just summon my weapons by saying some mumbo jumbo words. I've got to be careful.” She explained. Himeko glared at her.

“Some...mumbo jumbo words?” She shouted, furious. Harumin nodded.

“Yeah, I mean, they don't mean anything do they?”

“Not...exactly. But they're very special words! If I don't say them right, then the spell won't work!”

“Alright, so they're special mumbo jumbo words. I'm sorry I didn't realise it mattered. Calm down, geez.” Harumin said, waving her hand dismissively. Himeko continued to glare at her, fuming for a moment. Yuzu looked between them. This could be bad.

“Alright!” She announced. “Harumin's said she's sorry. And we really appreciate everything you're doing for us Himeko. So let's just, y'know, calm down?” Himeko rounded on her, scowling, before letting out a loud huff.

“I suppose I can accept her apology.” She declared, looking away from Yuzu. “I'm done resting. We can continue.”

 

The group walked down the stairs, and along the passageway. At the end, they found a large room, with twelve skeletons marching about. As they entered, the skeletons turned on them, charging. It was a quick skirmish, but soon the skeletons were defeated, with barely a scratch on any of the party. Once the skeletons were all dismantled, they began to explore. They were only just starting to get a grip on their location, before they ran into another group of skeletons. This one was dispatched without much hassle. They made another few minutes of progress, before a third group of skeletons interrupted them.

 

*****

 

“This is so boring!” Yuzu whined, head down on the table. This was the third combat in a row. They'd fought skeletons so many times before, it was all the same.

“17. Does that kill it?” Harumin asked from beside her. Matsuri nodded.

“Yeah, that's the last of them.” She confirmed.

“So can we go on to doing something fun?” Yuzu asked, grinning. Matsuri sighed, and looked down at her screen, before looking up.

“Alright, the room is clear. You can start exploring I guess.” She replied.

 

*****

 

Yuzu looked around the room, scanning it for details. Now that she wasn't worrying about the annoying piles of bones, she was starting to get a feel for what was going on. The room appeared to be like a temple of some sort. Rows of short benches lined the room. They'd had to fight around them, which had been an issue for Yuzu, but she'd never paid them much mind beyond the immediate frustration. Now she saw they were arranged around the room in a somewhat odd pattern. They were split into three uneven rows. The benches in each row weren't spaced out consistently, but Yuzu felt like she could almost see a pattern in them. Each time she got close however her head started to hurt, and so she stopped trying.

“Hey Mei,” She called out.

“Hm?” Mei replied, looking over at her.

“Is there a pattern to these benches?” Yuzu asked. Mei blinked, looking very confused by the question.

“I don't think so.” She replied. Yuzu nodded. It must've all been in her head. The benches all faced towards an altar at the far end. Yuzu walked up to it to investigate. Harumin came over with her, while Mei and Himeko turned to look at some engravings on the walls. Yuzu stopped in front of the altar to inspect it, while Harumin ducked behind it.

The altar was fairly plain in design, being nothing but a slab of stone with some decorations on it. A small thatch matt sat in the middle. Yuzu pulled it aside to reveal an engraved symbol which she didn't recognise. The symbol had a circular outline, with a design resting in the middle. The longer Yuzu looked at it, the more convinced she became that she was looking at an island. It had a large mountain in the middle. One side dropped off quickly, and barely protruded from the ocean, while the other was taller, with small jagged objects on it. After a second Yuzu realised it was a representation of this island. At the top of the mountain there was a small piece of glass lodged in the rock.

“This is cool.” Yuzu remarked.

“What's cool?” Harumin asked from the other side. Yuzu couldn't see her since she'd ducked down. She leant across the altar, and found Harumin lying on her back, knife in hand, attacking part of the altar. It seemed the other side wasn't as solid as Yuzu had originally thought. Her eyes drifted to a small pile of gems that lay on Harumin's stomach. As she watched, another one dropped from the altar and onto Harumin's chest. Yuzu raised an eyebrow at her. “What?”

“You're stealing from a church.” Yuzu replied, with a small smirk. Harumin shrugged.

“No one else is using them.” She said. “Just, don't tell your sister and Himeko, okay?” Yuzu nodded.

“Sure.” She agreed.

“So! What's cool?” Harumin asked as she hopped up. Yuzu pointed to the symbol on the altar.

“This. It looks like it's meant to be a representation of the island. And there's something marked at the top.” Harumin looked at the symbol.

“Neat.” She replied, before yawning. Yuzu scowled at her. Harumin grinned sheepishly back. “Sorry, this place is just very peaceful. Y'know, once the things trying to kill us are dead. It doesn't help that the sun's nice and warm.”

“Huh?” Yuzu said. It took her a second, before she noticed the warmth of the sun on her back. She turned around and looked up, trying to work out what was going on. There was an opening in the ceiling, not all that big, through which the sun had just started peeking into the room. It must've started while she'd been speaking with Harumin. The opening seemed to be slanted, so that the sun could only shine through from a particular angle.

“Oh, I wonder what that's for.” Yuzu remarked.

“It's only really shining on the altar.” Harumin replied. Yuzu looked back at the altar. Sure enough the edges of the hole stopped the sun on either side of the altar. “Well, and your big head.” Harumin teased.

“Why you...” Yuzu growled, jumping up onto the altar and tackling Harumin to the ground in a headlock. The two wrestled around for a moment, before breaking down into childish giggling.

 

*****

 

“Was it really necessary for you to actually put her in a headlock?” Himeko asked skeptically.

“It adds to the immersion.” Harumin replied. Mei gave Yuzu a pointed look.

“I hardly think it's necessary.” She declared. “Besides, you appear to have upset your fan.” Yuzu looked over at Nene, who was staring into space kind of dazed, a line of blood running slowly from her nose.

 

*****

 

The two girls flopped onto their backs on the floor, still laughing occasionally as they caught their breath. Yuzu frowned, as something caught her eye. There was a spot of light on the ceiling she hadn't seen before. Like something being reflected onto the ceiling.

“What's that?” She asked, pointing up at the light.

“Dunno.” Harumin replied, sitting up. “Give me a boost so I can see?”

“Sure.” Yuzu replied, climbing to her feet. She placed her hands together, and Harumin stepped on them. Yuzu boosted her up into the air.

“What are you two doing?” Himeko demanded from across the room. Yuzu looked over at her.

“There was something on the ceiling...” She replied. The bottom of her vision was caught by something shiny. She looked down, and gasped. The glass was shining under the sun, reflecting it's light up onto the wall. As Yuzu let her eyes wander, she saw that it was shining all around the room, lighting up small sections of wall. “Woah...” She muttered, turning to get a better look.

“Yuzu! What the hell?” Harumin demanded, as her footing lost stability. She fell forward, onto Yuzu, and the two collapsed back to the ground, this time with Harumin awkwardly straddling Yuzu's chest.

 

*****

 

“I don't think I can picture it. Could we have a demonstration?” Nene asked hopefully. Matsuri smirked.

“I'm sure that would be doable, right Yuzu?” She replied, looking at Yuzu. Yuzu frowned, and stole a glance at Mei.

“Um, I don't really think that's...y'know...because...” She awkwardly tried to come up with an excuse.

“I'm having a little trouble visualising it as well.” Mei remarked. Yuzu noticed a wicked glint in her eye, though it was gone in a second. “I'm sure Yuzu is familiar enough with these things to be able to demonstrate however.”

“Mei!” Yuzu protested, before pausing, and blushing. “What are you implying by that anyway?” She demanded, trying very hard to look angry.

“Just that you act without thinking so often, I'm sure you've fallen like that before.” Mei answered. “What did you think I was implying?”

“Nothing!” Yuzu snapped back. “Besides, I've never fallen on anyone like that.”

“Failing that I suspected you might've read something like it before.” Mei added nonchalantly, giving Yuzu a heavy look as she spoke. She was definitely talking about the...hidden books that Yuzu kept in their room.

“W-well! We couldn't anyway, there's not enough room.” Yuzu announced.

“We could move the furniture.” Nene said softly. Himeko sighed.

“We'll be here even longer if we waste time re-arranging the house. Can we just get back to whatever this is meant to be?” She snapped.

“Please.” Harumin agreed. “I'd like to stop enabling more of Nene's weird fantasies.”

 

*****

 

Harumin climbed off of Yuzu with a sigh.

“What was that?” She demanded. Yuzu climbed to her feet for the second time, and pointed at the glowing glass.

“I got distracted by that.” She explained sheepishly. Harumin sighed.

“Of course. So, what do you think it is?” She asked, looking at it.

“Dunno.” Yuzu replied truthfully.

“Perhaps it serves as a clue to the door in the main chamber.” Mei suggested, as she walked over to join them. “The symbols on the wall seem to be largely nonsense.”

“Did you see anything that might suggest how we'd get the door open?” Himeko asked Harumin, who shrugged in response.

“I didn't give it a close look.” She replied.

“If I may, I'd suggest we split up so some of us can attempt to decipher the clues in this room, while the rest check the door for leads.” Mei said. Harumin scowled at her.

“That sounds good.” Yuzu agreed.

“Well how are we splitting up?” Himeko asked.

“We should send the majority towards the door.” Mei replied. “In case something bad happens out there. I'll stay behind to work on the clues. Himeko should go to the door.”

“Really? I thought you'd want to keep her close.” Harumin muttered.

“It seems best to split the two of us who have received proper educations, to ensure that questions posed by any symbols in the dungeon can be solved quickly.” Mei replied. Her tone was flat, but Yuzu thought she could pick out the slightest hint of an insult in there. She was never entirely sure when it came to Mei.

“Right. So, how is everyone else moving, boss?” Harumin asked Mei pointedly.

“I'm not giving instructions, just an opinion. I would appreciate you or Yuzu remaining with me, as some of these symbols are too high for me to read properly. One of you should be able to get the elevation required to read them. Nene and the other should accompany Himeko.” Mei replied. Harumin frowned at the options.

“What do you think Yuzu?” She asked.

“I think Mei's probably right.” Yuzu answered. She walked over and dropped her voice low enough that only Harumin could hear her. “Do you want to go with Himeko and Nene? I'm not sure you'd both be here if I left you alone with Mei.” Harumin snorted softly, and looked over at Yuzu, her expression softening instantly.

“If you want me to stay with her, I will. I won't even pick a fight.” She replied. “Unless she starts it.” Yuzu laughed softly.

“It's okay. You go with Himeko. You're better at running away if something bad happens. And I'm sure Himeko and Nene can get away too.” She said.

“I feel like I should be insulted.” Harumin teased. “But I'm just happy my best friend knows me so well.” The two girls laughed softly.

“Are you two lovebirds done?” Himeko demanded. Yuzu went to step away quickly, but Harumin threw an arm around her.

“Yeah! You jealous?” She replied. Himeko scowled.

“No. I'd just like to get going. What's the plan?” She asked. Yuzu pushed Harumin away, and stepped forward.

“Mei and I will remain here. Harumin, Himeko and Nene are all going back to the main room. If anything happens, you guys run back here immediately. Nene might need a head start, so she should stay close to the door.” Yuzu explained.

 

*****

 

“Did you just take what everyone else can do into consideration when making a plan?” Himeko asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, so?” Yuzu replied.

“You were just struggling with it before. So I'm impressed you remembered we can do different things.” Himeko answered. Yuzu paused. She wasn't sure if she was being complimented or insulted here. She was quite certain it was one of them though.

 

Matsuri laid out a bunch of materials on the table. “Alright! You're good to go!” She declared. “Let us know when you're done!”

“Huh?” Yuzu replied. Matsuri had been saying something about the group splitting up, but she wasn't fully paying attention if she was being honest.

“Thank you, we will.” Mei replied. Matsuri shuffled off towards their bedroom, where Himeko, Harumin and Nene were all waiting for her. She closed it behind her, leaving just Mei and Yuzu sitting in the room together.

“So uh...what were we doing?” Yuzu asked sheepishly. Mei looked at her. The restraint she'd been showing the rest of the day was gone, and her exasperation was mixed with adoration.

“We're solving the puzzle.” She answered. She picked up a page and handed it to Yuzu. “This is the code for what each symbol means.” Yuzu took the sheet and looked over it quickly. It was complicated, to say the least. A lot of the symbols were very similar, but had very different meanings.

“Okay, and what do we do with it?” Yuzu asked. Mei picked up several other papers, and handed them to Yuzu.

“These are the wall tiles, and the light highlights that go over them. We have to work out which is which, and then record what they say.” Yuzu inspected one of each. The walls were simple enough, just big walls of symbols. The light highlights however were less straight forward. They were pieces of paper with holes cut in them, that exposed symbols when placed over the wall tiles. Yuzu groaned.

“This is going to be so much work.” She whined.

“I think it will be fun.” Mei replied. “It would be nice to approach a problem neither of us know the answer to together, for a change.” Yuzu looked up at the turn in Mei's tone. That typically only ever indicated one thing. As expected, she had a slightly bashful look on her face. Yuzu grinned. She was so cute.

“Okay! Let's do it! What do you want me to do Mei?” Yuzu asked. Mei looked up at her, shock written on her face for a moment. Then it was gone, replaced by her usual calm demeanour.

“You can start by trying to pick out which light pattern goes with which tile set. Pick a tile set, and go through each pattern until one works.” Mei replied, as she did the same.

“How do I know it works?”

“If each hole only has one symbol, then it works.”

“Got it!” Yuzu flashed Mei a grin, before grabbing her own tile set and beginning to sort through them.

 

*****

 

“Could you try and tell me what that one says?” Mei asked, leaning up on her tip toes and pointing at a symbol that was a bit too high for her to see. Yuzu stopped beside her, and glanced over at Mei, who stood an inch taller.

“Why do you think I could see it?” She replied. Mei shrugged.

“I assumed you could jump high enough.” She answered calmly. Yuzu scowled at her, and took a few steps forward, swinging her arms up and jumping into the air. She didn't get nearly high enough to see what it was.

“I can't.”

“Perhaps you should try a few more times. To be certain.” Mei suggested.

 

*****

 

“Seriously Mei, I can't reach it.” Yuzu insisted, staring at the card on the shelf above her. She'd found a match, and in her excitement thrown it into the air. The light pattern had landed safely, but the tile set managed to land on top of a bookshelf.

“I believe in you.” Mei replied calmly. Yuzu sighed, and jumped for it twice more, before giving up. It was absolutely hopeless. She turned to see Mei, still seated, staring at her with a slight blush on her cheeks.

“Why are you...” Yuzu began, before trailing off. She had a pretty good idea why Mei was blushing. Her own cheeks flushed in response.

“Alright, I guess you really can't.” Mei said, standing up and carrying her chair over. “Don't let me fall please.”

“I won't.” Yuzu replied, as Mei climbed up onto the chair. Yuzu placed her hands on Mei's hips, holding her steady. She averted her gaze, and tried very hard to suppress the blush that was only getting worse.

 

*****

 

“Okay, I've got it, you can let me down.” Mei announced.

“Why?” Yuzu replied from under her. “There's still more that high up, why don't I carry you to them all?” She tilted her head back to look up at Mei who was awkwardly sitting on her shoulders. A light blush coloured her cheeks, but she nodded.

“I suppose it's easier than making you put me down and pick me back up.” She replied stiffly. She'd had to shed her robe to comfortably sit on Yuzu's shoulders, leaving her with only her undershirt and a short pair of pants. Yuzu could only imagine what the others would think if they got back now. Probably nothing. They were sisters, after all.

The two walked around the room in relative silence, moving from one wall to the other, investigating each of the elevated symbols, until finally Mei had them all recorded. Once she was done, Yuzu let her off, and she quickly re-dressed.

 

*****

 

Yuzu looked at the sheets laid out in front of her. It'd taken them a while, but they'd found them all. She was surprisingly proud of their achievement. Across from her Mei was looking at the translation guide.

“Now what?” Yuzu asked.

“Now we translate it.” Mei replied.

“Can I help?”

“I don't think so. We only have one guide. Why don't you check if the others are finished? Or see if they'd like lunch?” Mei suggested softly. Yuzu blinked. It wasn't much, but something about Mei's tone, and the way she was suggesting ways Yuzu could still be useful was so cute. She took a moment, before nodding.

“Alright! Can do!” Yuzu declared, jumping to her feet. Mei watched her as she headed off to the bedroom, before turning her attention back to the translation. Yuzu tapped softly on the door. “Are you guys ready?” She called out. The door creaked open, and a very dejected looking Harumin slunk out.

“Yuzucchi...save me.” She whined.

“Stop being so dramatic!” Himeko huffed behind her.

“Yes, we're done.” Matsuri said. “What about you?”

“Mei's still translating it, but I was going to cook lunch while she did.” Yuzu replied. “Do you want to come help?” She looked over at Harumin, who nodded slowly.

“Anything but this.” She replied.

“Alright, let's go!” Yuzu said, heading for the kitchen and dragging Harumin along behind her. “What was the problem anyway?” She asked as they entered the kitchen.

“It was so boring. It was just Himeko looking at a puzzle. Nene started helping because she didn't have anything else to do.” Harumin whined. “What about you? What were you doing?”

“Helping Mei with a puzzle.” Yuzu replied.

“That sounds horrible.” Harumin remarked. Yuzu looked up at Mei, who was looking between the translation chart and one of the sheets they'd put together. She smiled. “Oh, I see. Guess not.” Harumin said, giving Yuzu a knowing smile.


End file.
